**David Moyes has admitted Christian Norgaard has been sidelined for longer than he expected, with the midfielder ruled out of Everton’s trip to Tottenham.**
Norgaard has yet to feature for [Everton](https://readeverton.com/) this season and will again be missing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tomorrow. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Moyes revealed the club had hoped the 32-year-old would be further along by now.
“We expected him to be on the grass by now,” said Moyes.
Asked whether he had expected Norgaard to be unavailable for this length of time when Everton signed him, Moyes acknowledged that he had not. The hope is that the experienced midfielder will be available after the international break.
Moyes added: “He’s experienced and we look forward to benefiting from that.”
Norgaard’s experience was one of the attractions for Everton when they brought him in during the summer, but Moyes has so far been unable to use him. There was no indication from the Everton boss of a fresh injury problem. Instead, the original recovery has simply taken longer than anticipated.
For now, Tottenham comes too soon. Moyes will hope the international break finally gives Norgaard the time he needs to get himself into contention.
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