Everton captain Phil Neville will be sidelined for up to two months after the midfielder was forced to undergo knee surgery.

Toffees boss David Moyes revealed after his side’s 2-1 defeat at Reading yesterday that Neville had the operation on Friday.

The 35-year-old former Manchester United star will miss a host of crucial matches, including fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham, as Everton try to push for a top four finish in the Premier League.

Moyes admitted Neville’s influence was badly missed as previously winless Reading recovered from a goal down to beat Everton at the Madejski Stadium yesterday.

Moyes said: “His leadership was missed but we were missing quite a lot of senior players today and you could see that by our bench. Thomas Hitzlsperger did okay, not too bad.”

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