Newcastle continue to miss Ben Arfa

With Hatem Ben Arfa undergoing surgery on his troublesome hamstring, Newcastle will be without their creative wide man for the remainder of the season.

It has been a frustrating season for the French international, having missed 12 weeks with hamstring trouble before making his comeback in the first leg of the magpies Europa League round of 16 tie with Anzhi Makhachkala.

Having aggravated the injury in Russia, Ben Arfa will now not return to action until next season which could be a positive for Alan Pardew.  In terms of their league position, Newcastle find themselves relatively safe of relegation, particularly having invested in an number of French imports in the January transfer window.

With the rest of this season now a write off for Ben Arfa, the player will not now have any competitive football until and will have the opportunity to come back stronger off the back of a successful pre season without his side potentially rushing him back to action before he is ready as the pressure to get results on the pitch intensifies.

There was also increasing speculation that Ben Arfa would not be at Newcastle past the summer, it may be to Newcastle’s benefit that the player’s recent injury problems may have cooled any potential interest and allowing the Toon to hang on to one of their prized assets.

In contrast, there is also the possibility that any recurrence of the injury could have a lasting effect on the players future.  However, if Ben Arfa come back stronger for the extended rest next season, it will be like a new signing for Newcastle.

Aaron SharpFollow @ajs26061988