Ivan Toney was hit with an eight-month ban from playing football after being found guilty of breaking the Football Association's betting rules in May.
The Brentford striker was charged with 262 breaches of the FA's Rule E8, admitting to 232 of those charges, with 30 of them withdrawn. They related to various bets placed by Toney on himself to score, his own team to win, and sometimes on his team to lose — although not when the 27-year-old was playing.
The ban came as a hammer blow for the striker, who was enjoying a fine 2022/23 season for Brentford before it was cut short.
But when will Toney return to action for the Bees? And what does the future hold in general for him?
MORE: Details of FA rules breaches that led to Ivan Toney's eight-month suspension
When is Ivan Toney back?
Toney is due to return to competitive football on January 17, 2024, although he has already been back in training with his team-mates for three-and-a-half months. He was allowed to rejoin the Brentford squad under boss Thomas Frank from September 17, 2023.
Toney discussed his ban while speaking to the Diary of a CEO podcast and highlighted how his return to first-team training was a very important step.
"It's like a kid at Christmas — I'm counting down the days until I can train and be around the boys, being in football prison at the moment," Toney said.
"Being around the boys [training] it will get a little bit easier but at the end of the week there's no end goal or reward because you can't play in the match.
"I feel like keeping me away from the [training] ground, if I wasn't as strong in my head, that would break some people. We talk about mental health and these things. What's that doing to a player who is not allowed in the environment? Keeping him away from the training ground knowing that football is their life and it's all they've done from a young age, how is that going to help them at all?
"It doesn't add up with the things they push forward. The whole football community is big on mental health and then the FA do this and pushes me away from the whole football environment.
"It's not a nice feeling and the whole purpose of not being allowed at the training ground is baffling for me."
🚨🚨| Ivan Toney: “None of it was match fixing. I was betting on myself to score first. I’m trying to do the right thing. It’s not like I’m smashing someone to get a yellow card.”
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 21, 2023
[@StevenBartlett]
pic.twitter.com/cK5wTQDAM9
Ivan Toney first game back for Brentford
As it stands, if he can maintain fitness and get himself ready for a return to match action, Toney's first scheduled game back will be Brentford's away game at Tottenham Hotspur on January 30, 2024.
There is a chance he could be involved in FA Cup action the weekend before that, depending on whether Brentford make it through a third-round tie against Wolves on January 5.
The other alternative, of course, is if Toney leaves Brentford before then, with Arsenal and Chelsea the two clubs credited with a strong interest in the frontman.
How Brentford are coping without Toney
Thomas Frank's side showed impressive resolve without their talismanic striker during the initial months of his ban but have recently fallen on hard times.
He missed their final two games of the 2022/23 campaign, in which the Bees secured landmark victories over Tottenham (3-1 away) and Manchester City (1-0 at home), with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa stepping into the void in attack.
Those were also been in the goals at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, although Wissa has only scored twice in the Premier League since August.
Mbeumo has seven top-flight goals this term and even deputised for Toney as a dead-eyed penalty taker. However, the Cameroon international suffered an ankle injury after earlier scoring from the spot in a 2-1 defeat at Brighton on December 6 and faces two more months on the sidelines.
Aside from the personal heartbreak of being ruled out of Cameroon's AFCON campaign, Mbeumo has looked on and seen Brentford lose all five of their Premier League games in his absence, compounding a slump of seven defeats in eight overall that leaves them 17th in the table.
Coping without Toney was one thing for Frank's side; coping without Toney and Mbeumo appears to be a bridge too far.
MORE: The race for the 2023/24 Premier League Golden Boot
Ivan Toney career stats, goals, contract & transfer rumours
Toney's Premier League record since Brentford's promotion to the top flight has prompted plenty of speculation around his future. He's turned himself into a dependable Premier League goalscorer and has regularly been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea — even namechecking the former two clubs in his Diary of a CEO interview.
"The next club I go to if I was to move, it would be the right club," he said.
"I've been a Liverpool fan my whole life but from young, I've liked Arsenal, watching Arsenal, how they play and how passionate the fans are."
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) August 22, 2023
🏴 Man Utd are considering a move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney in January as Erik ten Hag wants another striker in, reports
@stevek9KS1TV in @Transfersdotcom pic.twitter.com/HoMc3GdYz4
Frank, however, insists Brentford have no inclination to sell Toney, despite the suspension and the interest in him.
"His future is with Brentford, there's no doubt about that," said the Danish manager.
Ivan Toney goals and appearances for Brentford
| Season | Appearances | Goals |
| 2020/21 — Championship | 45 | 31 |
| 2021/22 — Premier League | 33 | 12 |
| 2022/23 — Premier League | 33 | 20 |
| Cups, other competitions for Brentford, 2020– | 13 | 5 |
Toney is contracted to the west London club until June 2025 and earns a reported £21,000 per week — a figure that the Premier League's big-hitters are likely to exceed if it comes to offering him a new home away from Brentford. He's scored 32 goals in 66 Premier League games in the past two seasons.
Before joining the Bees, the journeyman striker was prolific for two seasons in League One for Peterborough United, following a spell at Newcastle United during which he was loaned to Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic and Scunthorpe United. He began his career at Northampton Town, where he was born and grew up.