Ben Arfa boost for Newcastle

05 April 2011 17:00
Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa has trained with his team-mates for the first time since suffering an horrific double leg fracture. The 24-year-old returned to Tyneside on Monday night after doing the bulk of his rehabilitation in France and was able to warm-up with the rest of the squad on Tuesday morning before going off to work by himself once again. Ben Arfa told the club's official website: "It is great to back in Newcastle and back with the lads. I joined in with the warm-up and managed to do a bit of light training on my own and it was good to see the rest of the players after such a long time. "I will be continuing to follow my rehabilitation programme now I am back in Newcastle and would like to thank the fans for their support while I have been out injured. "It has been a difficult period without football but I am pleased with how my recovery has gone and look forward to pulling on a black and white shirt again and getting back onto the St James' Park pitch." The France international has been sidelined since fracturing both his tibia and fibula in a challenge with Manchester City's Nigel de Jong on October 3 last year. He had surgery to repair the initial damage and then a second operation after an infection threatened to cost him his leg.

Source: PA