Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that Jack Butland could be sidelined for up to five weeks with the broken finger he sustained while on international duty with England.
Butland suffered the injury during training with the national team, ruling him out of England's glamour friendlies against Germany and Brazil.
The 24-year-old was also sidelined for 13 months following an ankle injury during an international match with Germany in March 2016, but Hughes is hopeful of having his goalkeeper back before the turn of the year.
"He's a little bit disappointed, obviously. He's getting these setbacks in terms of injuries, usually when international squads and Germany are involved, unfortunately for us. But we are hopeful it's going to resolve itself as quickly as possible," he told reporters.
"Clearly he's got a number of fractures in the finger. I have seen the X-ray. There's misplaced bones in there.
"We are reasonably confident that once it settles down and Jack gets to the point where he can manage the pain, more often than not you can get back playing and training. It's just about getting to that point. It could be three weeks. It could be four or five."
Butland's injury could see him miss up to seven Premier League games for the Potters.
Barney Corkhill
