Everton vs Tottenham: Mousa Dembélé absent for Goodison Park trip due to groin problem

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembélé will play no part in his club's first Premier League clash of 2016 away to Everton on 3 January, after Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that he is set for a "few weeks" on the sidelines. The Belgian international previously injured an ankle and lasted just 44 minutes of the dramatic 2-1 victory over Watford earlier this week before limping off with a new groin problem.

After that win, which saw the club rise above title challengers Manchester City to third in the Premier League, Dembélé's manager revealed that the player would need to be assessed and predicted that he would likely miss no more than a fortnight.

Expanding upon that initial prediction in his latest pre-match press conference held before the trip to Merseyside, Pochettino said: "Mousa Dembélé has a small injury but we hope he's back with us in a few weeks. He definitely misses Everton. We've no other (new) injuries, everyone is okay."

Christian Eriksen came on for Dembélé against Watford, but Tottenham have several other midfield options they could choose to explore for the match against Everton. Tom Carroll made only his second Premier League start of the season at Vicarage Road, before being replaced by match-winner Son Heung-min, while Ryan Mason was also listed among the substitutes and Eric Dier, who has impressed this season in a new holding role, returned to the defence as part of a new-look back three alongside Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.

Nabil Bentaleb, meanwhile, has not featured for Tottenham in the Premier League since August but is back in contention following a long-term ankle lay-off that was complicated by a setback suffered on international duty with Algeria. The 21-year-old failed to make the bench at Watford, but did play against Monaco on 10 December and was an unused substitute against Newcastle, Southampton and Norwich.

Dembélé joins Clinton N'Jie in the treatment room after the former Lyon striker, who arrived at White Hart Lane on a five-year deal in August 2015, recently underwent surgery on a knee ligament injury. Midfielder Alex Pritchard also remains out as he continues to recover from a long-term ankle problem.