Dyer ready to bolster Toon army troops
The 24-year-old England international has missed his club’s last six matches, but returned for the reserves against West Brom last night. And despite suffering a touch of cramp late in the game, he came through unscathed.
Dyer’s availability for the visit of Kevin Keegan’s side to St James’ Park this weekend will present him with his first chance to taste senior action since the 1-0 win at Middlesbrough on October 18.
And he can hardly wait. “I’m keen to get back as soon as possible now. I enjoyed getting a game for the reserves, and I felt good during the game,” Dyer said.
“Despite a bit of cramp near the end, I’m ready to be considered for the first team on Saturday.”
Dyer admits he is not the best watcher of games, but having had more than his fair share of injuries during his time at Newcastle, the midfielder has had to get used to looking on from afar.
Given his way, Dyer would have played in what turned out to be a disastrous outing at Chelsea last Sunday when the Magpies were trounced 5-0 after being reduced to 10 men.
And now his problems are behind him, Dyer is determined to rekindle the form which won him a place in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England plans.
“It has been frustrating being out, because we’ve had a couple of good results and a couple of bad ones when I’ve been injured,” he told the club’s official website, www.nufc.co.uk. “I must admit I’m not the best watcher of games, and it’s even worse when we lose games like we did at Chelsea. I actually wanted to play in the last game against Chelsea, but the physios wanted to hold me back because they were anxious that I could do more damage if I wasn’t 100% right.
“The Manchester City game is a big match for us. It would have been good to get a game a bit quicker after the defeat at Chelsea to get that out of our systems, and it has been a bit frustrating having to wait during the international break.
“Manchester City lost their last game as well, so they’ll be looking to get back on track. It should be a good game, but after our bad start we’ve gradually picked up and we know that three points on Saturday will help lift us further up to where we want to be.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be involved on Saturday, though obviously that’s down to the gaffer,” he said.
Dyer’s reserve-team outing was not the only good news for Bobby Robson, who looked on as defender Jonathan Woodgate came through his second comeback game with no ill effects.
Woodgate has missed the last 11 matches after undergoing surgery at the end of September to repair a double hernia, but is now ready to resume at the heart of the defence.
His fitness boost could hardly have come at a better time with the Magpies facing FC Basle in the second leg of their UEFA Cup second-round tie next Thursday night, and the league trip to Wolves, for which Andy O’Brien is suspended, less than 48 hours later.
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