Tottenham utility man opens up on the perforated appendix that laid him low for months and left him in a downward spiral
Eric Dier and the
Tottenham medical team had tried to explain it away as a stomach bug. A number of the club’s players had gone down with it and Dier’s symptoms sounded similar. Except they were not. It was something far more sinister and it would be the beginning of a nightmare period for Dier, one that would see him lose his status as a regular Spurs starter and mainstay of the
England squad – and from which he is still battling to recover.
It was mid-December last year, Spurs were about to play Burnley at home in the
Premier League and Dier reported feeling unwell. He would be stood down from selection and on match day he was overwhelmed by a crippling abdominal pain. His appendix was perforated and infected – a dangerous situation – and he needed an emergency surgery.