Dyer return will help lift Newcastle, claims Souness

Dyer, 26, has been out for a month with a hamstring injury sustained in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at St James's Park, with the Magpies going unbeaten since.

Boosted by the arrival of Michael Owen from Real Madrid, Souness' side have won their past two games, picking up seven points out of the past nine to sit 10th in the table.

They are expected to continue their run at the weekend when they travel to Portsmouth, but Souness is not taking a victory for granted.

He said: "You get nothing for looking back in this game. Yes, we've done well in the last couple of games but the most important game now is Portsmouth on Saturday and we know that will be a tough game.

"I've said before there are no easy games in this league, and it will be no different on Saturday. I was always confident things would change for us after the bad run we had at the start. We have good players here, and we have some good players on the sidelines as well.

"When we get everyone fit we will be capable of pushing up the table, but in the meantime it would be nice to keep this little run going with another good result on Saturday."

While Dyer is expected to return, the midfielders Emre and Nolberto Solano are not ready for a return to action after respective hamstring and thigh injuries. "It looks like Kieron Dyer will be ready for Saturday, though the others aren't ready yet," Souness said. "[Albert] Luque is out for weeks of course, and of the other injured players Emre is over his hamstring but not quite ready yet, and it's the same with Nobby [Solano].

"We've got the international break coming up, though, so hopefully all but Luque will be ready after that. That may be tempting fate because sometimes players come back from the international game with some problem or another, but if all goes to plan then we should have virtually a full squad in time for the game at Wigan."