KIERON Dyer has made a dramatic dash to Germany in an attempt to rectify the continuing injury problem that is already threatening to wreck his season.

The Newcastle midfielder is expected back on Tyneside later this weekend but, with a new back problem compounding his previous hamstring complaints, Magpies chiefs are bracing themselves for the possibility of a lengthy lay-off.

As if that were not bad enough, boss Graeme Souness last night admitted he could be without summer signing Emre for "anything up to six weeks" and conceded that moves for both Albert Luque and Nicolas Anelka had hit significant snags.

Amid all the mounting chaos, it is easy to forget that Newcastle play their second game of the season at home to West Ham this afternoon.

Given the air of unease that currently lingers over Tyneside, there will be plenty of people wanting to remind Souness of the importance of the outcome should things not go according to plan later today.

Dyer's back injury is merely the latest in a long line of setbacks to have hampered the Scot this summer, although the paucity of Newcastle's attacking options makes the England international's current complaint especially traumatic.

Dyer looked full of running in the first half of last weekend's defeat at Arsenal, but his back has become increasingly painful this week and, in a hasty attempt to prevent any further damage, Newcastle's medical staff have sent him to Germany for a brief spell of treatment.

The 26-year-old has been plagued by a succession of hamstring injuries since moving to Tyneside from Ipswich in 1999 and, while his current problems stem from his back, it is likely that the injuries are closely linked.

Souness was extolling Dyer's new-found fitness in the build-up to last weekend's season opener, but it appears the midfielder, who only put pen to paper on a new four-year deal earlier this month, is already back to square one.

"He's receiving some treatment and will be back this weekend," confirmed a Newcastle source. "That's to look at everything. It's not a serious situation, it's just to make sure he's going to be available for all of the games and not just some of them."

With the Magpies already short of attacking alternatives, the prospect of Dyer being sidelined for a number of weeks adds even greater urgency to Souness' protracted search for a new striker.

Newcastle officials remain hopeful of completing a deal for Deportivo La Coruna frontman Luque before the transfer window closes in less than a fortnight's time although, for the first time, Souness last night conceded he may have to make do with just Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi.

The United boss had been hopeful of having Luque on board in time for this afternoon's game after Freddy Shepherd lodged a £7.5m bid with Deportivo late on Thursday night.

But, despite the striker's desire to play in the Premiership, the Spaniards rejected Newcastle's offer and slapped a £10m price tag on Luque's head.

That story is a familiar one - Fenerbahce rejected United's latest offer for Anelka earlier this week before Fulham repeated their insistence that Shepherd had not bid enough to prise Luis Boa Morte from Craven Cottage - and, with the Magpies chairman refusing to be backed into a corner this summer, the chances for a quick fix appear slim.

"It's all about the prices," admitted Souness, who was at least able to console himself with the news that Steven Taylor had signed a new four-year deal at St James' Park.

"I think that because we are known as a big club, and because we play in the Premiership, there is a premium.

"When you are targeting top players at clubs that don't really want to sell them, you have got to tempt them.

"You get what you pay for in the modern market. The clubs will ask for good money for them, sometimes it will be too much money."

The alternative, of course, is for Souness to set his sights slightly lower in an attempt to sign players who would be far easier to prise from their current employers.

The lengthy pursuit of Michael Owen always looked doomed to failure - the Real Madrid striker now looks almost certain to rejoin his former club Liverpool on a season-long loan - but Souness insists he would rather enter September empty-handed than settle for second best.

"If I were to leave here in the near future, I'm not going to burden the club with what I would term average players," he said, before hastily qualifying the statement by underlining his wholehearted commitment to Newcastle's future development.

"The players I have bought are top players. I'm only interested in people who can take this club forward."

Emre was one of those people, and Souness is still furious at the hamstring injury the Turkey international sustained during Wednesday night's international defeat to Denmark.

The Magpies manager had publicly questioned the wisdom of this week's friendly programme on Monday and took absolutely no satisfaction from seeing his worst fears realised.

"It's an almighty blow for us," said a seething Souness.

"The situation is beyond my understanding. These friendlies are meaningless. They are a waste of time.

"To have friendlies one week into the new season is ridiculous. No-one benefits, no way, full stop.

"We are in a unique business. If I ran a factory with 20 expensive machines which had cost me millions of pounds, would I let someone borrow them five or six times a year?

"Someone who was not going to pay me to borrow them, someone who would use and abuse them, someone who might bring them back broken? Of course not. It's outrageous that this can happen in the modern game."

Read more about Newcastle United FC here.