[goldenHuddlestone]

Kieron Dyer is using the pain of his injury nightmares to fire his quest for a regular place in the England team.

The 28-year-old Newcastle midfielder started his first game for the national side for almost four years in last nights 1-0 friendly defeat by Spain after finally emerging triumphant in his latest battle for fitness.

It was Dyers 29th senior cap but, having missed out on so much international football in recent seasons, he is not prepared to rest on his laurels.

He said: "There is a lot of competition for places in the England squad, but I want to rise to the challenge. I have spent so long on the sidelines, I am hungry. It makes you think when you are out injured for so long just what it all means to you. I went to the last World Cup as a fan, but I want to be at the next major championship as a player. There is no point just aiming to make an England squad and make up the numbers. You have got to want to break into the team, and thats my aim now."

Dyer played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford to confirm his return to full fitness.

However, he admitted his two-year exile from the squad left him feeling strangely out of place at first.

He said: "When I first got to the England team hotel this week, I felt like the new boy again. It was very strange. It was only when I saw the whole squad together and how many new faces there were, and how many of the old ones had gone, that I realised how long I had been out for. It was a sobering experience. I do not normally get nervous, but I was a little. Thankfully, I settled back into things pretty quickly."