Magpies don't know when Robert will be back

Newcastle United have admitted they do not know when Laurent Robert will be ready to play again, as treatment continued on his spinal fracture.

Newcastle United have admitted they do not know exactly when Frenchman Laurent Robert will be ready to play again as treatment continued on his spinal fracture.

The club revealed on Monday that the 27-year-old former Paris St Germain midfielder would be out of action for at least six weeks after medical experts discovered a stress fracture in one of his vertebrae after he complained of back pain.

But just 48 hours later, Robert claimed he could be fit for the start of the new Premiership season, which begins for Newcastle at home to West Ham on Monday, August 19.

United sought to clarify the matter yesterday after their doctor spoke to the French professor, for a second opinion, and he confirmed the initial diagnosis.

And although they have revealed that the player is making good progress, they have not committed themselves to a comeback date.

"Laurent is in Paris receiving treatment on his back," said a club spokesman. "The initial reports are encouraging and he is making excellent progress.

"However, at this stage, it is too early to say when he will be fit to play."

Robert told his personal website on Wednesday: "This type of injury is quite common among high calibre athletes, but it is not as bad as what might have been said.

"There is no inflammation. It is just a pain I feel in my back and with that sort of injury it is pointless for me to stop training. I have to treat my injury and keep having lighter training sessions.

"And if everything goes well, I will be present for the English league’s first game."

However, his manager Bobby Robson was more cautious.

"It’s not changed," he said after Wednesday night’s 3-0 friendly defeat by Barcelona. "Laurent was allowed to go - and we supported him in his decision - for a second opinion in France.

"He knew a professor, he was advised by Paris St Germain, so he’s been to see a top man.

"They’ve decided to treat it the way they would like and treat it the way Laurent wants it to be treated, and he can have no argument with us. If it doesn’t work out, he can’t say to us ‘you made me choose the wrong treatment’, so it’s fine.

"But statements on his website that he hopes to be fit for West Ham, I don’t know. I can’t see that myself.

"He has got a fracture. It’s slight, but it’s a fracture and they don’t heal up in two weeks, I don’t think.

"And he hasn’t trained for almost two weeks, so he can’t be fit anyway. He can’t train. If you have a bad back, you can’t run, can you?"

Meanwhile, striker Craig Bellamy is close to a return after a long rehabilitation following surgery on the knee injury which brought a premature end to last season.

The Welshman, who was operated upon by Dr Richard Steadman, the American specialist who saved Alan Shearer’s career, could be just a matter of weeks away from returning to action, and is thought to be targeting the second leg of United’s Champions League qualifier against Bosnian side NK Zeljeznicar at St James’ Park on August 28.

"Craig is back in training and keeping to the schedule as advised by Dr Steadman," said the spokesman. "At this stage, it is too early to say when he will be fit to play."