Burnley have been dealt a blow ahead of the busy festive schedule as defender James Tarkowski has failed in his attempts to get a three-match ban overturned.

The 25-year-old has been one of the shining lights during the Clarets impressive first-half of the season, as he has started all 18 of their Premier League games to date and formed one of the division’s strongest central defensive partnerships alongside Ben Mee.

However, the former Brentford man’s extended run in the team will now come to an enforced end after an independent regulatory commission rejected his appeal against the three-match ban he received following an incident during last weekend’s goalless draw at Brighton.

Tarkowski was originally sited for appearing to elbow Brighton forward Glenn Murray during the contest, an incident that was missed by match official Chris Kavanagh, which led to it being referred to the independent panel.

The centre-back had accepted the charge, although he believed the ban should have been less severe, however, his appeals have been rejected and he will now miss Burnley’s next three games, starting with Saturday’s home clash against Tottenham at Turf Moor.

Burnley will head into that match a point and place above Spurs in the standings and they are priced at 6.50 to win the match in Tarkowski’s absence, while Mauricio Pochettino’s side are available at 1.53 and the draw is on offer at 4.00.