Dyer had been told he needed a "miracle" recovery from a knee problem in order to make the tournament after being injured at St Mary's Stadium last weekend, but he has made substantial progress over the past few days.

He has not been assured of his World Cup place, but Sven will at least assess his fitness in Korea next Sunday and Monday before the FIFA deadline of May 21 for official squads to be submitted.

The news will be sure to give the squad a significant morale boost after Steven Gerrard joined Gary Neville in being ruled out of the tournament earlier this week.

Dyer spoke to Sven on the phone today after the England coach received a positive update from the Newcastle medical staff and was said to be buoyed by the development after initially being in tears last weekend.

The midfielder will fly out to Dubai, where the England squad have their training camp, on Friday along with Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier and other FA staff.

He will then travel with the rest of the players to Korea on Saturday and be put through his paces over the next three days, while Trevor Sinclair remains with the squad on standby.

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson was clearly boosted by the news when he caught up with TheFA.com tonight.

"This is very positive news," he said. "He will be coming out to join us and we will see what happens then.

"It seems that he can start running tomorrow and it's important that in the next few days, our medical staff get the chance to assess him in detail and see if he can prove his fitness. "The important thing for any player at a World Cup is to be 100 per cent fit."