Injured for 1,445 days, Kieron's crocked again
DYER STRAITS
By CLIFF HAYES and LUKE NICOLI
KIERON DYER’S long-awaited comeback lies in tatters after his horror injury jinx struck AGAIN.
West Ham’s England midfielder is said to be “devastated” after suffering a stress fracture of the SAME right leg he broke at the start of last season.
Dyer, 29, had been scheduled to play his first game in 12 months in tomorrow’s friendly against former club Ipswich.
But he broke down in training last week and now faces the heartache of another FOUR MONTHS out, raising fresh fears over his long-term future.
Dyer was sidelined after suffering a sickening double leg break last August.
A friend of Dyer’s confirmed: “Kieron’s devastated. The injury is purely stress-related, probably the result of playing on hard ground.
“He has worked so hard to get fit again and was desperate to make his return against a club he still has very close ties with.
“He still sponsors Ipswich under-9s and thought it the perfect stage to let everyone know he is on the way back. But he is determined to show he is not finished. He has ambitions of playing for England again.”
In total, Dyer has been injured for a staggering 1,445 days — nearly FOUR YEARS — since his first problem, a fractured left fibula, in 1999. He has played just 193 minutes for West Ham since his £6million move from Newcastle last summer — at more than £31,000 a minute!
Blow
His latest breakdown is a huge blow to Hammers boss Alan Curbishley, who was hoping to have him back alongside fellow long-term absentees Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker. Dyer’s latest fracture is the latest in a long-line of injuries.
He first suffered with shin splints at Newcastle in 2002, prior to suffering calf and back problems that same year. He was again dogged by shin splints problems in early 2003 before suffering a hamstring problem later that year which affected him for 13 months.
In 2005 he suffered knee and groin problems and a hamstring complaint in April affected him for another 12 months. He returned in the 2006-07 season but suffered an eye injury, flu and a gashed leg before moving to Upton Park.
Injury specialist Lory Laskey said: “The fact he keeps picking up injuries could be genetic or subtleties not fully examined but it’s more likely he wasn’t rehabilitated properly when he first started having problems.”
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