KIERON DYER insists he is ready for a ‘big season’ in West Ham colours after making his first league start in almost two years in the 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
It has been a long road back to first-team football for the England international, who broke his leg back in August 2007 in only his third game for the Hammers during a League Cup second round clash with Bristol Rovers.
Arriving in East London for a £6million sum from Newcastle United, there were big expectations for the lively midfielder.
However, the fans have been made to wait to see Dyer’s trademark attacking runs, instead having to settle for a handful of cameo appearances from the bench towards the back end of last season.
An encouraging pre-season campaign ensued, and the 30-year-old was rewarded with a place in Gianfranco Zola’s starting line-up at the weekend.
And now, fighting fit and ready to go, the former Ipswich Town livewire is determined to put all his troubles of the last two years behind him and get back to what he does best – terrorising opponents’ defences.
“This was a new move to me, a new start, but I had my leg broken which was very hard to take,” he said. “But, touch wood, I’m due a bit of luck now and I’ve got a big season to look forward to.”
Dyer revealed that Zola intends to ease him back in to the frame, to avoid aggravating the injury, which was complicated by a number of errors during the operation.
“There was a lot of things that went wrong with the operation. The wrong pins were put into my legs and that’s stuff that is out of your hands,” he added. “I was told at first that I would be back in between nine months and a year so then to be out for nearly two years was hard to take.
“I still haven’t played 90 minutes yet. The manager and ‘Clarkey’ (assistant Steve Clarke) are going to ease me in, play 60 minutes here and 65 minutes there and maybe do that for the first six or seven games of the season.
“Obviously it will be frustrating because I don’t want to miss any football but that is the way it is going to happen.”
Dyer has found plenty of support during his recuperation programme from striker Dean Ashton, who has also endured a frustrating spell on the sidelines, and shows few signs of a return to action himself.
“I suppose I had Dean Ashton with me who was in a similar situation. We trained together and kept our spirits up. I was thankful to have someone to train with who was also in it for the long haul.”
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