Hope now for 'suicidal' Dyer Newcastle United's injury-ravaged midfielder Kieron Dyer has spoken of feeling "suicidal" after his latest failure to recover from long-term injury and illness, writes Michael Walker.
Dyer has made only one brief club appearance since August, as a late substitute against West Bromwich Albion in October, and is now recuperating at the British Olympic Medical Centre in Harrow. Dyer said he hoped to be fully fit again "sooner rather than later".
But there can be no guarantees regarding the 26-year-old's condition. "We are playing it by ear," he said. "I had been suicidal after the West Brom game when I broke down again. That is when the physios, the manager and my family stepped in and kept supporting me. They have been magnificent."
Dyer confirmed that since being in Harrow he has suffered another hamstring setback and also alluded to the "medical problem" that has dogged his career. The St James' Park club issued a vague statement about Dyer's underlying problem - there is speculation that he has a genetic liver complaint - but there has been no official confirmation and Dyer was again vague.
"I should be back sooner rather than later. I have been at the British Olympic Centre and it has been excellent and the doctors have been very thorough. They watched my running and filmed it from different angles and found I have a problem in that my style of running was putting pressure on my hamstrings.
"My glutes [ gluteus maximus muscles] are weak and for the last 10 days I have been back on the weights and making my glutes stronger to stop the pressure on my hamstrings. We knew my leg was weak and I had been hammering my hamstrings to get them stronger but now I have to work on the glutes too . . . Once I have built them up I'll be able to withstand a full game."
Guardian Service
Di Canio faces sanction
Lazio's Paolo Di Canio could face action from the disciplinary board of the Italian Football League after he made a raised-arm gesture at the end of their 2-1 defeat to Serie A rivals Livorno at the weekend.
The incident happened as the 37-year-old striker walked out under the Lazio supporters section.
He made the same gesture after Lazio's victory over city rivals AS Roma in January and then the league fined him €10,000.
Livorno goalkeeper Marco Amelia urged the authorities to crack down on Di Canio.
"There are measures that can be taken against such behaviour. I hope they are carried out," he was reported as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday.
Saprissa to face Liverpool
Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa beat Sydney FC 1-0 yesterday to set up a Thursday semi-final with European champions Liverpool at the Fifa Club World Championship.
A sharp finish from midfielder Christian Bolanos two minutes into the second half gave Concacaf champions Saprissa victory in chilly Toyota, central Japan. Sydney, who included Dwight Yorke, had defender Alvin Ceccoli sent off in the 81st minute after he was deemed to have caught Saprissa goalkeeper Jose Porras late.
Swansea player tests positive
Swansea defender Ijah Anderson has tested positive for cocaine. The 29-year-old has been suspended by the League One leaders pending a hearing at the Football Association of Wales. Swans chairman Huw Jenkins confirmed the player, if found guilty, would be sacked.
Blatter wants new quotas
Fifa chief Sepp Blatter has reiterated his desire for clubs to field at least six home-grown players in order to limit the number of foreigners in their teams.
"The solution is that there should be a minimum," Blatter told reporters. "Fifa's idea is we should have at least six players eligible for the national team of the country in which they play."
European soccer's governing body Uefa had foreign player quotas until 1995, when the Bosman ruling demolished restrictions.
Blatter said a taskforce was examining the "national identity" of clubs to help reverse a trend that could hurt the development of local players.
