Jamie Vardy is out of Leicester’s clash with Tottenham as he continues to battle a groin injury.

The striker missed Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham and will miss Saturday’s visit of Spurs, and remains a doubt for next week’s trip to Crystal Palace.

Boss Claude Puel ruled out surgery to solve the problem but admits he cannot rush Vardy back to action.

He said: “Jamie won’t be available. We will protect him, he has a little pain and I hope he can recover after 10 days.

“If we push him perhaps it will be a big injury and I want to protect him.

“I hope we can have Jamie for Crystal Palace, but I am not sure. We will see if he will improve his feeling and see when we can use him.

“It’s just something about the pain and we needed to be careful. We have to respect the rest so he can come back into the squad.”

Harry Maguire has trained this week after a knee problem and could return to ease Leicester’s defensive worries while Jonny Evans is available.

Maguire’s expected return will be a boost with Leicester facing Harry Kane, who has scored 13 goals in 11 games against the Foxes – the most he has scored against any side.

The England captain has netted 14 times for club and country this season.

Puel added: “He has scored a lot of goals, not just against Leicester. He is a fantastic player and we respect Harry a lot.

“It’s not just the responsibility of Wes (Morgan) or Evans, it’s all the team – it’s a collective defence to manage him.

“They have a fantastic team with good players, not just Harry Kane.”