AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli is backing Sandro Tonali to bounce back from his ten-month ban after illegal betting charges.

The Newcastle midfielder, signed from the Serie A side in the summer, made 12 appearances for his new club before the punishment was enforced.

And Pioli has insists he was unaware of the 23-year-old's off-the-pitch issues ahead of his side's Champions League clash with Newcastle at St James' Park.

He said: "He [Tonali] was very polite, respected and respectful to others, he was a very sensible boy.

"Even if I feel I have an open relationship with the players, I only talk to them about football. What they do outside, I don’t know everything about them.

"His football quality and tactical quality, technical, physical quality, there’s no doubt about him. He’s a great player.

"We’re close to Sandro. When he was with us, he was a really cheerful, positive young man, close to the team, popular, very important to the team’s rise, applied himself, worked hard, very willing to help the team.

"Unfortunately, he fell into a delicate situation. We’re with him, we’re close to him and we hope this experience will teach him and help him be better in the future.

"At the moment they [Newcastle] signed him, it was a good deal, they signed a very good player. Then what happened afterwards, no-one could have expected it."

Pioli was also asked about Zlatan Ibrahimovic's new role as an advisor at Milan.

He added: "Zlatan is taking the next step of his career.

"He’s always been a top character, a top player.

"He’s faced every challenge with determination, with intelligence and this is a new challenge for him and he’ll show the same personality, the same characteristics to do everything to help the club."