Dier: "I've learned a lot in a difficult period"
Mon 22 April 2019, 12:46|Tottenham Hotspur
Eric Dier hopes he’s over what he describes as ‘the most difficult four months of my career’.
The midfielder was back in the starting line-up at Manchester City after an unfortunate run of illness and injury restricted him to six appearances and just three starts in our previous 26 matches between 15 December and the Etihad on Saturday.
Eric, 25, initially suffered a bout of Appendicitis in December and was then laid low by Tonsillitis in January. He’d played just twice on his return in March when he injured his hip on England duty.
You can only imagine how frustrating this all was for a player who has shown incredible consistency in his Spurs career. A brief look at his statistics tell the story – in the previous three seasons, Eric featured in 146 of our 161 matches in all competitions. Add in his first campaign in 2014/15 and this season and he’s up to 206 appearances for us.
“I’m so happy to be back,” he said after playing for an hour at the Etihad. “It’s been the most difficult four months of my career and that says a lot about how lucky I’ve been up to this point to stay away from injuries and illnesses.
“I think overall I’ve been very lucky and that’s the way I look at it.
“It’s been a very difficult period but at the same time a period where I’ve been able to learn a lot of things, re-assess a lot of things, learn about myself and that’s what I’ve tried to do. Touch wood, I can kick on now and help the team.
“As I said, I’ve been so lucky to always be fit and available and every player will have periods like this but for someone who prides himself on always being fit and available, it’s been difficult.
“Everyone has been fantastic, the boys have been incredible and it’s been nerve-wracking watching some of those games!”
Eric’s next appearance will be a special moment for him – and tomorrow you can read exclusively on the Spurs Official app about how he feels about the prospect of playing at the new stadium for the first time when we face Brighton tomorrow night (7.45pm).