Everton have confirmed Mikel Arteta, their midfield player, suffered a grade two hamstring tear in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.
The injury forced Arteta to be substituted after ten minutes when he pulled up with the injury.
David Moyes, the Everton manager, said he expected the Spaniard to be “out for a few weeks”.
Moyes had handed Arteta the captaincy for the game in the absence of Phil Neville, himself out with a hamstring problem.
Everton are also without Tim Cahill (foot) while Marouanne Fellaini has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.