Fernando Llorente: Tottenham star Eric Dier speaks out about Spaniard after Harry Kane injury

Eric Dier has backed Fernando Llorente to fill the void left by the injured Harry Kane.

The England captain will be sidelined until early March after damaging ligaments in his ankle earlier this month.

The absence of Kane and Heung-Min Son, who is on international duty with South Korea, saw Llorente line up against Fulham on Sunday in his first league league start in over a year.

The Spaniard, 33, had an afternoon to forget after scoring an own goal as Spurs came from behind to net an injury-time winner at Craven Cottage.

But Dier, who made his return as a 79th-minute substitute since having his appendix removed, is confident Llorente will bounce back.

He said: “Fernando’s a very good player. He has very good qualities.

“We need to give him the service he needs to demonstrate his qualities.

“We can do that and he can (also) help the team.”

Tottenham lost another first-team star to injury in the win over Fulham when Dele Alli was forced off with a hamstring problem late on.

The attacking midfielder joins Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Moura and Kane in the treatment room.

Spurs midfielder Dier, 25, added: “Every team gets injuries. We have to deal with it, we’re not sulking about it or feeling sorry for ourselves.

“It’s not a question of if we can cope without Harry or not.

“Harry’s one of the best strikers in the world, any team would feel the loss if Harry wasn’t playing, so we have to find a solution and move on.

“Injuries happen in football and that’s why you have a squad and not just 11 players.

“It was a good start (to life without him). People are going to be talking about it when he’s injured but we’ve just got to get on with it.

“Harry will be doing his best to get back as soon as possible and it’s down to the team and the squad to rally and carry on.”