Swansea City winger Nathan Dyer is back in contention for the first team following eight months out with an Achilles injury.
Dyer has been out since he ruptured his Achilles back in February’s win over Leicester City.
However he is now back after extensive rehabbing and is in contention for this weekend’s game against Huddersfield Town.
Dyer’s available
“Nathan [Dyer] is available for selection now,” said Swans boss Paul Clement. “He has played two games for the under-23s and he is training well.
“It has got to the point now where he can be considered for action.” Clement told the Swansea club website.
Big boost for the side
The 29-year-old played in five out of seven games following Clement’s appointment back in January, and could be a big addition to the squad.
Dyer played just under an hour against Manchester City for the under-23 squad, before completing the full 90 minutes against Celtic where he scored twice.
Swansea’s big problem this season has been creating chances. They are only averaging 6.6 shots per game in the Premier League this season, the lowest in the division.
He will compete with Wayne Routledge and Luciano Narsingh for playing time, however neither of them have seen much action as Clement has preferred systems without wingers.
The manager has mainly used a diamond setup or a 5-3-2, which does not particularly suit Dyer or the other wingers in the squad.
Narsingh appears to be trying to play at the tip of the diamond, and has done so for the under-23 side, but has not featured there for the first team.
Another option would be Clement switching to 4-3-3, with Jordan Ayew moving out to the left-flank which he has operated in at Aston Villa, and one of Narsingh or Dyer playing on the right while either Tammy Abraham or Wilfried Bony plays as a lone striker.
4-3-3 might be Clement’s best option, but he already has the players to use that formation without Dyer and has not opted to use it.
With Dyer in the mix now though, he may find a way to get his wingers more playing time.