Bengaluru, December 17: Tottenham Hotspur and England international Eric Dier has been ruled out until the start of next year after the midfielder has recently had surgery to remove his appendix.

The 24-year-old lastly played against Barcelona in midweek Champions league fixture but was forced to absent from weekend 1-0 win over Burnley. Now it has been revealed that the player missed the game due to the operation and the London based side is now set to miss the service of the player in the hectic Christmas period.

Dier is now expected to return to training only in the New Year as he recovers from the surgery.

A spokesperson for Spurs said: “Eric Dier has undergone surgery to remove his appendix. The England international midfielder was diagnosed with appendicitis after contacting our medical staff due to acute Abdominal pain. He received immediate treatment to assess and then remove the appendix.

OFFICIAL: Tottenham have announced that Eric Dier will miss the remainder of 2018 after having his appendix removed. pic.twitter.com/5iTIe7Aqpn

— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) December 16, 2018

“He will now undergo a period of recovery before commencing rehabilitation and it is expected he will return to training with the squad in January. Along with our Medical staff, we wish to thank the NHS for their excellent treatment of Eric.”

Dier's absence can come out as a big factor for Pochettino's side as the midfielder has been a key element of Spurs this season.

Playing as the only defensive midfielder in the squad, Dier has appeared in over 13 matches this season scoring twice, missing just three Premier League games before the Burnley triumph. Moreover, with another defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama injured for a long time, Spurs now have to find another in the middle of the pitch to fight during one of the biggest chunks of the season around the festive period.

Dier is expected to miss at least five games, four premier league games against Everton, Bournemouth, Wolves, Cardiff and Carabo Cup semifinal against Arsenal over Christmas and New Year.

Against Burnley, Pochettino gave a full match debut to academy teenager Oliver Skipp as Dier's replacement and the teenager along with another academy prospect Harry Winks is now expected to fill the void before Dier returns to full action.