Dyer holds on to place in England squad
Kieron Dyer has been included in England's World Cup final squad after proving his fitness to coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Trevor Sinclair had travelled with the squad to the Far East as standby for the Newcastle midfielder following his knee injury sustained on the last day of the Premiership season.
Sinclair even played in today's friendly international against South Korea but it is understood he will return to England tomorrow.
Dyer is still not match-fit but team medics are confident he will be ready to face Sweden in England's opening World Cup game on June 2.
There are no other changes to the England squad named by Eriksson ten days ago with Danny Murphy having replaced his injured Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard.
KIERON DYER FACTFILE
1978: Born Ipswich, December 29.
1997: Joins Ipswich as a trainee.
1998: Nominated for PFA First Division select team and makes his England Under-21 debut.
May Suffers promotion heartbreak when Charlton defeat Ipswich in First Division play-off semi-final.
1999: February Called up to the full international squad for friendly against France.
March Fractures leg in game against Watford but returns for last five games of the season.
May Ipswich beaten by Bolton in the First Division play-off semi-final.
July Signs for Newcastle for £6million.
September Selected for first senior England start against Luxembourg in European Championship qualifier at Wembley.
2000: Newspaper revelations about his antics on holiday led to a dressing down by manager Bobby Robson. A shin injury then took him out of the on-field action.
2001: February 24 Played his last first-team game in 1-0 home defeat against Manchester City.
November Sent home in disgrace from Newcastle training camp in Spain along with team-mates Craig Bellamy, Andy Griffin and Carl Cort and fined by Newcastle for breach of discipline after failing to show up for an official dinner.
2002: January Insists he is ready to commit his long-term future to Newcastle.
February Breaks down with a stress fracture of his left foot just a day after undergoing an FA fitness test.
March Lasts only 20 minutes of a reserve game with Manchester City at Kingston Park before breaking down again.
April 17 Starts in England’s 4-0 win over Paraguay at Anfield but taken off at half-time.
May 11 Damages knee ligament against Southampton on final day of Premiership programme.
May 12 England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson reveals the midfielder is ‘‘almost for sure’’ ruled out of the World Cup.
May 15 Makes good progress on his recovery from injury and is summoned to join the rest of the England squad in Dubai in the hope of proving his fitness.
May 21 Named in England’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup finals ahead of FIFA’s deadline.
