“It wasn’t enjoyable” – Spurs star reflects on his recent difficulties in North London

Eric Dier has revealed that he used the lockdown period as an opportunity to physically and mentally recharge himself after a challenging year.

The 26-year-old underwent since emergency surgery to remove his appendix in December 2018 and underwent the knife once again last July to correct an unspecified issue detected during medical assessments ahead of the 2019/20 campaign (Spurs official).

The England international also struggled with form over the past year and was also the subject of a four-game and fined £40,000 for climbing over seats to confront a fan after following the FA Cup penalty shootout defeat to Norwich City in North London back in March (FourFourTwo).

Dier admits that the lockdown period gave him the chance to review his aims and ambitions whilst also making the most of the opportunity to regain his fitness.
The former Sporting Lisbon player also underwent a positional change having dropped from his holding midfield role into a central defender.

“It was an important moment for me,” Dier told Standard Sport.

“It gave me an extended break, which I hadn’t had for a long time. It gave me time to reflect on where I was at and have a good understanding of where I wanted to get to and what I needed to do to get there.

“And it gave me the opportunity to have an extended block of training, which I hadn’t had for a long time, which was really good for me. It just gave me a chance to re-set after a crazy year. It was very helpful, it gave me a lot, really. I used it in the best way.”

Dier added: “It was a very difficult time for me. I actually felt very good coming back for pre-season last season, but then I had unexpected surgery which made me miss pre-season and kind of threw me off. From there, it was very difficult and an up and down season. It wasn’t enjoyable.

“I am really happy with where I was post-lockdown. I felt very good then and kind of disappointed to go on holiday! I feel like I am going to feel very good, pick up where I left off. I’m really happy to be back.”

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