Tottenham have confirmed midfielder Eric Dier will miss the festive period after having his appendix removed.

The England international has played 17 times for the club this season, while he has also played six times for the Three Lions. He has played a crucial role to help Spurs into the top three, although he sat out Saturday’s 1-0 win over Burnley.

Midfielder Christian Eriksen scored the winner in stoppage time but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will now need to plan for life without him for a few weeks.

He will miss the Christmas period, including Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against north London rivals Arsenal. Confirming the news, Tottenham released a statement that read: “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. 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.”

Spurs will remain third after this weekend’s matches and they take on Everton in their next Premier League match.

The Toffees are slight outsiders at odds of 3.25, with the draw 3.60, while Spurs remain 2.15 favourites.

Manchester City and Liverpool remain title favourites, while Pochettino’s men are as high as 29.00 to lift the trophy and end their wait for silverware.