Ben Arfa will be back soon...

There is a bit of positive news around today regarding Hatem Ben Arfa as it has been revealed that the French star is finally due back on Tyneside a week tomorrow.

Ben Arfa has been out since September and probably won't be fit enough to play a large part in our run in, but the fact that he will be back on Tyneside will hopefully give the squad a boost ahead of the next eight games as they look to ensure Premier League football for next season.

Indeed it also appears that Newcastle have managed to garner some positive press back in Ben Arfa's homeland due to they way that they have handled the injury situation and the commitment that they have shown to the 24-year-old. Apparently, NUFC are now viewed as a caring club over The Channel, but don't take my word for it. Here is what Hatem's English advisor, Simon Stainrod has been saying to the Sunday Sun:

“Newcastle supporters probably won’t be aware of the reaction that there has been in France to the way Hatem has been cared for, but it has certainly been noted,” he said. “The newspapers have carried the story but I think other professionals can’t believe it either."

“The France national team was at Clairefontaine and the players – and these are top players at big clubs – are amazed at the commitment that Newcastle have made to Hatem. From the chairman and owner coming out to see him to the club signing him when he was out with a serious injury, it is just something that you wouldn’t get at a French club."

“It has made an enormous impact on players in France. The fact that they’ve shown such respect for such a high-profile player, of course it adds to the reputation of the club. From a Newcastle point of view they could not have been any better with Hatem."

“From the manager, to the owner to the directors to the other players getting messages to him, they could not have handled the situation any better. Mike (Ashley) is one of the most important businessmen in the UK so to take time out of his schedule to visit Hatem – well, it just shows how valued he is as a player."

“That is the measure of the man – he wasn’t looking for publicity, he just did it because he wanted to find out how Hatem was. But that kind of thing gets out there and Newcastle’s reputation in France has been helped by it, undoubtedly.”

Hopefully our enhanced reputation will enable us to sign some of the better players from the French league over the summer, and hopefully they will want to come if what Stainrod said has any truth behind it. It's about time that Newcastle started developing a good reputation, and if it's a good reputation for treating players well then it can only be a good thing in my opinion.

In a way it's almost like we've never had Ben Arfa. It took an age for his loan move to materialise but once it did he only managed a handful of appearances for the club before Nigel de Jong's callous scissor-tackle put an end to any impression that the lad could have made on the Premier League.

Ben Arfa could return before the end of the season although I feel it's best that we don't rush the lad back from what was a very serious injury. However, Stainrod has revealed that Hatem is desperate to help out Newcastle in the final few weeks of the season. He added:

“He’s been working very hard after the initial setbacks and the staff at (French national football centre) Clairefontaine have been great, Newcastle have been great and it’s just a case of playing it by ear now."

“Getting back to Newcastle is a big step for Hatem. The doctors are just telling him to take it one day at a time but I can speak for him when I say he’s desperate to help Newcastle in any way he can.”

A bit of good news at last!