The fitness of West Ham midfielder Kieron Dyer continues to frustrate Hammers boss Avram Grant.

WEST HAM boss Avram Grant is hoping that Kieron Dyer’s career does not go the way of Tottenham defender Ledley King, after the former England midfielder was forced out of Saturday’s game with Newcastle United.

The 31-year-old missed the defeat against his old club with a slight thigh injury, but the stop start return of Dyer is proving a tough one for the manager to deal with.

“Kieron played well last week,” said the boss. “But he has had three years out, he didn’t train all the week, and he couldn’t play today.”

“I’m sure that we can use him in the future, but we need to manage him very carefully.”

Dyer has probably been the most impressive player in claret and blue this season, but he has started just four games and the furthest he has got is the 77th minute – he has still never played 90 minutes for the club in the three years he has been at Upton Park.

Obviously long-term injury has cost him so much in his West Ham career, but having got him fit at the start of this season, the Hammers medical team seem reluctant to push him for fear of a recurrence.

Like King at Spurs, his training seems to be very intermittent, but if a player is coming in and out of the team, especially a player as unique as Dyer, it must be difficult for a manager to keep on adjusting and still get the balance right.

“It is very frustrating,” admitted the boss. “Hopefully it will not be like Ledley King at Tottenham.

“At least when he plays, he is playing very well, but we still need to manage him very carefully.”

Maybe he is right, but with West Ham bottom of the league and Dyer in fine form, surely it is getting close to the time when they have to stop treating him with kid gloves.