FORMER Ipswich star Kieron Dyer is poised to return to football – at Portman Road!The Newcastle ace, out of action since February, has pencilled in the Geordies' visit to Suffolk on December 9 for his long-awaited senior comeback.

By Mel Henderson

FORMER Ipswich star Kieron Dyer is poised to return to football – at Portman Road!

The Newcastle ace, out of action since February, has pencilled in the Geordies' visit to Suffolk on December 9 for his long-awaited senior comeback.

He has not been back at Portman Road since joining Newcastle in the summer of 1999, apart from as a spectator, and is keeping his fingers crossed that he suffers no setbacks in the next fortnight.

Dyer is making excellent progress after being laid low with a shin problem that needed surgery and is keen to make up for lost time.

The 22-year-old, who moved to Tyneside in a £6.5 million deal, is already joining his first team colleagues in training. He is still not quite 100 per cent, but boss Bobby Robson and his medical team are satisfied with his progress so far.

News of his impending return will also delight England boss Sven Goran Eriksson, who has been monitoring the player's progress and even visited him at Newcastle's training complex.

Eriksson sees play-anywhere Dyer as the solution to his problem on the left side of midfield and, injuries permitting, is expected to draft him into his squad for next summer's World Cup finals.