Ben Arfa will be back in action in April.

Newcastle United's charismatic French midfielder, Hatem Ben Arfa is moving ever closer to a return to the first team, and Alan Pardew believes that the Wolves game on April 2nd could see the 23-year-old return to competitive action.

If that is the case it will mean that Ben Arfa will have been out of action for six months as a result of the double leg break injury that he sustained against Manchester City at the start of October. It's a long time, and I expect that we won't be seeing the best of Ben Arfa at all in the remainder of this season.

It's important not to heap too much pressure and expectation on the lad. He has been out a long long time in terms of football and will need to take things steady as he eases his way back into the first team. The last thing any of us want is to run the risk of the lad suffering a setback that could see him out for a longer period.

This is another reason why it's pretty handy that Newcastle have all but guaranteed Premier League survival. The need to throw a special player like Ben Arfa in at the deep end is greatly reduced as there is no need to resort to desperate measures to try and get points on the board in the final few weeks of the season. At least I hope that is the case anyway!

Ben Arfa has been putting in the hours on his recovery away from Tyneside, which will mean that when he returns he will only have to achieve match fitness. I say only because for pinnacles of fitness such as myself and Hatem it's not actually that hard to do ;)

“I may look at Wolves," said Pardew. "He’ll not be toned up, as he has been out for so long. He’s running, but he’s a good month away. You’d like to think he’s got every chance of playing against Wolves. The Stoke game is probably too soon for him."

If Ben Arfa can make an impact upon his return then fair enough, but I'm not holding out much hope and certainly won't be getting on his back if he takes a while to get back in the swing of things. What I will do however, is remember what he can do. Here is a reminder....



More of that and it will be worth the wait!