West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola insists Kieron Dyer will not be rushed back into the first team despite the club's perilous position near the foot of the Barclays Premier League.
Dyer, 30, is available again after recovering from a hamstring injury which has sidelined him since the end of September.
It is the latest attempt by the former England midfielder to revive a career that many believe is grinding to a halt owing to the sheer number of injuries he has suffered in recent years.
Dyer has only started four matches for the Hammers since joining from Newcastle in August 2007.
He scored twice for the reserves in Tuesday's 5-2 win against Stoke and is pushing for a first-team recall in tomorrow's league match against Burnley at Upton Park.
But Zola maintains he will take things slowly.
"He's an important player and he's a quality player. It's good to have him back available," Zola said.
"When Kieron Dyer is fit he can bring something different but what we don't want right now is more setbacks.
"I don't want to put pressure on him. He's been out for a long time. I'm seeing him very positive, he's bright and he just needs to train a lot and be able to play to his standard for a long period.
"I don't think he will start but I have yet to make a decision."
When pressed whether he thought Dyer could ever rekindle his international ambitions, even in time for next summer's World Cup finals in South Africa, Zola added: "That's still a long way off.
"I think he should take it easy. The most important thing for Kieron is to remain fit as long as possible so he can get his form back, and then everything else will come later."
Zola, who has only seen his side win twice in the league this season, has more pressing concerns than Dyer's eventual return.
Club captain Matthew Upson has been ruled out of Saturday's game after sustaining a hamstring injury in training on Wednesday.
The England centre-back underwent a scan yesterday and Zola is optimistic he will not be out for too long.
Upson's absence is nevertheless a big blow to Zola ahead of a match West Ham are desperate to win as they look to pull clear of relegation trouble.
"It's obviously a big opportunity for us," said the former Italy forward.
"We need to get a victory tomorrow. It's been a while since we had a victory so it's important and we know it.
"If we keep playing the way we have been playing and improve on certain things, we have a good chance."
While West Ham drew 3-3 at Hull last Saturday, Burnley earned a point from a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, a result which kept the Clarets in the top half of the table.
"They're a team who play differently to the others because they try to play a different kind of football, with a lot of passing. It's very similar to what we do," Zola said.
"It's good to see managers who encourage their team to play football and make it entertaining.
"I saw them playing at Manchester City (in a 3-3 draw) and I was positively impressed by them. I think it will be an entertaining game tomorrow."
