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Cape Town - Mousa Dembele believes Jamie Vardy's ban is a huge fillip for Tottenham Hotspur as they try to reel in Leicester in the race for the Premier League title.
Vardy, the Foxes' top goal scorer with 22 goals, is set to miss at least two of his side's final four matches of the campaign.
The England international faces an extra one-match suspension for using abusive language towards Jon Moss after the referee had shown him a second yellow card for diving, an indiscretion that carries a mandatory one-game ban.
Dembele reckons the absence of their talisman will be keenly felt by the Foxes, who saw their lead at the top cut down to five points following Spurs' impressive 4-0 win at Stoke on Monday night.
Asked whether Vardy's absence will aid the north Londoners' cause, Dembele answered: "Yeah of course. He's one of their best players so it's good for us of course, but we have to concentrate on our own game."
By contrast, Mauricio Pochettino has a clean bill of health for his team's four-match run-in.
"It's good everyone is there, nobody is injured," said Dembele. "Everyone is mentally ready so that's the most important thing."
The midfielder was delighted with the manner in which Spurs negotiated a potentially tricky fixture at the notoriously difficult Britannia Stadium.
"Everyone expected it would be very difficult and the circumstances are very special because we know we have to win these games and if you can win playing like this, it's even better," the Belgium international added.
"We're very proud and we keep on moving on. Every week is the most important game of the season. Every week we say we need to win it. We hope it goes to the final day, that's our aim of course."
