Jose Mourinho and Eric Dier have explained the bizarre incident which saw the Spurs manager chase the player down the tunnel during Tottenham's Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea.
Spurs were trailing 1-0 with 15 minutes to go when Dier decided to leave the pitch and run down the tunnel towards the changing rooms before being swiftly followed by his furious-looking manager.
It wasn't long before the pair re-emerged and the England international would play the rest of the match, in which Erik Lamela's late strike cancelled out Timo Werner's opener to force a shoot-out.
Dier scored as Spurs ran out 5-4 winners to reach the quarter-finals - although he sportingly consoled Mason Mount, who missed the crucial spot kick, before celebrating with his team-mates.
Afterwards Dier told Sky Sports: "After playing on Sunday and tonight it wasn’t easy. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I had to run off the pitch in the second half.
“He (Mourinho) wasn’t happy but there was nothing I could do about it, nature was calling."
Mourinho told Sky Sports: "He had to go. No other chance, he had to go.
"What happened to Eric Dier is not normal, I have to praise him in a special way. It should be forbidden for a player to play two games in 48 hours at this level [after he played against Newcastle]. What he did is not human to do.
"Maybe it's a normal thing when you are completely dehydrated, when you have nothing in your muscles, which was the case. I knew that he had to go but I was just trying to put some pressure on him to have him back for the remaining time.
"He was a great example for everybody, playing these two matches. Of course if the football authorities don't care about players, I care.
"So of course Eric Dier cannot play the match on Thursday."
