The midfielder came on in victory over Crystal Palace days after being in Italy speaking to local prosecutors about alleged illegal betting.

Howe said: "It sort of came to me when we were doing our walk that I wanted him to be at the front, to see the love closer up. So it's a big thank you from me to our supporters.

"That reception at the end was incredible and it was emotional.

"Sandro is going through an incredibly emotional time and the supporters reacted how I hoped they would. I could feel the love between him and them and that will do him the world of good, he'll feel much better.

"The hardest part is ahead, but it's great for him to know he's got the support of the senior management and the supporters, they're the most important."

Howe added: "He very much wanted to play and perform, for sure. There was no decision to make for me, I could see that from how he's trained, so there wasn't a part of me that went, 'He's not ready to play football'. it was just about introducing him at the right time, and I thought he did well after he came on.

"Hopefully this is a step forward to him for moving forward in his life. He's very level.

"Very rarely do you outwardly see the emotion, but you know it's in there. He's a private guy and keeps things in check really well. I'm sure he's massively boosted by today."