Marseille head coach Didier Deschamps believes that Hatem Ben Arfa could still join Newcastle United on a permanent basis, despite his loan spell being ruined by serious injury.
The 23-year-old France international winger suffered a broken leg in the 2-1 weekend defeat at Manchester City and is facing several months on the sidelines as a result.
However, Deschamps still thinks that Ben Arfa's long-term future could still lie at St James' Park.
He told the French media:"The injury is a shame because he had just started to get his bearings with Newcastle.
"Now we'll have to wait until the end of the season to see what happens.
"There is an option for Newcastle to purchase him, bound to a number of matches. He won't play them, obviously, but we'll have to see what Newcastle do.
"There would be no problem for me in him returning to Marseille, but I don't think it's too much in his own plans."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email