Hugo Lloris had to be stretched off in considerable pain as he suffered a serious injury to his left arm after gifting Brighton the lead in Saturday's Premier League clash.
The Frenchman dropped what appeared a routine catch from a cross from the left, allowing Neal Maupay to nod into the empty net from right underneath the crossbar to give the hosts the lead.
A double by youngster Aaron Connolly would eventually see Brighton take all three points in a 3-0 victory.
Lloris was clearly in significant discomfort, with the Spurs goalkeeper receiving oxygen and eventually being stretchered off, to be replaced by Paulo Gazzaniga after a lengthy delay.
BT Sport reported that Lloris was screaming as he left the field on a stretcher and that, after being given morphine, he was rushed straight to hospital for further assessment.
Spurs later confirmed that Lloris dislocated his elbow, avoiding breaking the joint, but have offered no timetable for the World Cup winner's return.
“We can confirm that Hugo Lloris sustained a dislocated elbow during today’s match against Brighton,” Tottenham said on their website.
“Our club captain was stretchered off as a result of the injury and will now return to London this evening after being assessed at a local hospital.
“Assessment will continue this coming week to ascertain the full extent of the injury and the length of time he will require to undergo rehabilitation.”
The incident and subsequent goal happened inside the first three minutes of the first half and was the fastest Brighton have found the net in their Premier League history.
Given the obvious severity of the injury, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea immediately tweeted a message of support for the Spurs captain as he posted a praying emoji.
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The defeat rounded off a dismal week for Spurs and manager Mauricio Pochettino, with his side having been hammered 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The international break gives Spurs two weeks until their next fixture when they will face the Premier League’s bottom club, Watford, on October 19.