Kieron Dyer has admitted that his hour-long run-out against Aston Villa last weekend was so tough that he felt as though he was playing with 'one lung'

Kieron Dyer has admitted that his hour-long run-out against Aston Villa last weekend was so tough that he felt as though he was playing with "one lung".

The Hammers midfielder has made a series of cameo displays in recent weeks as he attempts to work his way back to full fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a double leg break.

But Dyer was handed his longest appearance since August 2007 when he replaced injured defender James Collins after half an hour of the match at Villa Park.

The former England ace expressed his delight at receiving an extended opportunity to impress - even though the 60 minutes of action proved a physical challenge.

He said: "I wasn't expecting an hour. The plan was to give me half an hour or 40 minutes here and there but obviously when the manager called me to go on with 15 minutes of the first half to go, I was quite surprised.

"I've played most of my career in [central midfield] but I'm used to playing with two lungs in there and on Saturday I only played with one."

"But I'm happy to be playing in any kind of game after being out for so long, I did okay and as a team we thoroughly deserved a point.