Tottenham Hotspur winger Nacer Chadli out for six weeks with ankle ligament injury

Tottenham Hotspur will be without Nacer Chadli for at least six weeks, which includes November's North London derby against Arsenal, after the club confirmed the winger suffered ankle ligament damage in the Premier League draw with Liverpool. Chadli was replaced by Clinton N'Jie after just 11 minutes of the 1-1 stalemate at White Hart Lane, with the player having to be stretchered from the field.

The 26-year-old has been an ever-present for Spurs in the league this term, scoring once and making one assist. The injury could see Chadli miss as many as seven matches and not return until late next month at the earliest in a significant blow for manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Chadli's absence will start with the away trip to Anderlecht in the Europa League on Thursday (22 October) while he will also miss the home game against the Belgian champions and visit to Qarabag. In the Premier League, Chadli will not feature against AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Arsenal or West Ham United, while he will also be considered a doubt for the visit of Chelsea on 29 November.

"Further assessment and investigation has confirmed that Nacer Chadli suffered ankle ligament damage during our draw against Liverpool," a Tottenham statement read. "The Belgium midfielder was forced off with the injury early in Saturday's game and is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks. Our medical staff will continue to monitor his progress during his rehabilitation to determine when he will be ready to return to training."

Despite enduring an uncertain start to life in north London after becoming one of a raft of players to join the club amid the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, Chadli has since become a key figure in the Tottenham first team. He enjoyed his most fruitful campaign last term, scoring 13 goals in all competitions – including against Arsenal in the 1-1 Premier League draw at the Emirates Stadium.

The former FC Twente player becomes the latest addition to a lengthy Tottenham injury list that also includes Nabil Bentleb, Ryan Mason, Alex Pritchard, Tom Carroll and Heung-min Son. Defender Jan Vertonghen is, however, confident the club's squad is strong enough to cope despite the losses coming during a busy period of the season.

"Once you're in the flow it's just nice to keep playing the games," Vertonghen told Sky Sports. "You get a rest in between. We have a big squad, we have enough players who can play. We have a couple of injuries now but I think our squad is big enough to face the games.

"It's been very busy the last couple of weeks, but that's what we want. We just want games to stay in the flow we are in now. I think we are doing very well and we want to keep it up in Europe and the Premier League. Hopefully we can win both games this week."

Arsenal are already confirmed to be without two players for the first derby of the season against Tottenham on 8 November. Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck will both be absent, having undergone respective bouts of surgery.