Hatem Ben Arfa (right) played 65 minutes for Newcastle against Fulham Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has suffered another setback with the recurrence of a hamstring injury suffered last month. The Frenchman, of Tunisian descent, was Newcastle\'s main attacking threat in Monday night\'s 2-1 defeat at Fulham. He played 65 minutes on his return to the team before being withdrawn as a precaution.
However, Magpies\' boss Alan Pardew has confirmed that Ben Arfa is a doubt for the visit of Manchester City to St James\' Park on Saturday.
He told reporters: \"For this game we have a bit of a concern over Hatem and whether he will be available. His hamstring has a little bit of a problem and we\'re still trying to get to the bottom of that.\"
The Tyneside club have won just once in their last nine games, and Abu Dhabi United Group-owned City are also struggling for consistency, coming off a 3-2 defeat in the Manchester derby.
City captain Vincent Kompany will undergo a last minute fitness test on a hamstring injury, ahead of Saturday\'s early kick-off.
Pardew is hoping a bit of luck will lead to positive results for his team, \"we\'re a good side that is under-performing and there are reasons for that but we can\'t accept that. We have to work and we are working as hard as we can to turn the situation in our favour.\"