 Newcastle United will have a familiar face in their dressing room in tonight's friendly with Norwich City at Carrow Road - and manager Glenn Roeder believes he could be the equivalent of a new signing. Forgotten man Kieron Dyer is currently working on a one-to-one basis with a fitness specialist in the south of England as he continues his seemingly never-ending battle against a series of hamstring injuries. But Roeder claimed today that there is now some light at the end of the tunnel as far Dyer is concerned. And while the little midfielder will not be available for the start of the season, the United boss hopes to welcome him back into the first team squad by the end of next month. Before flying to East Anglia for tonight's Craig Fleming testimonial, Roeder told me: "We will be delighted to see Kieron in our dressing room tonight, but we will not be completely happy until we see him in a black-and- white shirt again, and when we do, it will be like having a new signing. "He is continuing his rehab in the south with one-to-one treatment but our physio Derek Wright and our medical team are constantly in touch with him. "The person who is working with him on a daily basis is happy at the way Kieron's rehab is going. He is working hard, with a lot of powerful running, and there have been no adverse effects. "We have agreed on a period of time to complete his fitness programme which should mean Kieron being fit before or around the end of August, and we are quietly confident that he will be quickly involved in the first team again. "I saw Kieron myself only last week and he looked very fit and healthy in himself and this is very important. "He has had a stop-start career at St James' Park, unfortunately with more stops than starts, and understandably he has been a bit down about it a times. "But he is very positive at the moment and his only aim is to play football again for Newcastle United. "And because of his rehabilitation and the length of time we have allowed him, we are confident he will not break down again. "He keeps in touch with the rest of the players and he is coming to our game at Norwich tonight and he cannot wait to return to the squad and put himself up for selection again." It was from Ipswich that Ruud Gullit signed Dyer in 1999 for around £7m and it has to be said that the England midfielder has had a chequered career at St James' Park - both on and off the field. But I must confess I have always liked Dyer as a player for his ability to run at defences, although, like everyone else, I would like to have seen him score more goals in his spell on Tyneside. Roeder added: "You cannot have enough pace in your team in the Premiership and in Europe these days, and this is something Kieron Dyer does possess. "In fact, he is one of the few players I have come across who can run as fast with the ball as he can without it." United and Roeder have already suffered the worst injury blow of all before a ball has even been kicked this season with Michael Owen's knee ligament problems, and it would be a tremendous boost to both the club and the manager to have an injury-free Kieron Dyer back in a black-and-white shirt by the end of next month. | 
