Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland will be sidelined for up to six weeks after breaking his finger in training with England on Thursday, reports Sky Sports.
Butland was set to start against Germany on Friday but withdrew from Gareth Southgate’s squad on Thursday after suffering the training injury.
Stoke’s medical staff concluded on Friday morning that the 24-year-old does not require surgery but it will take at least a month for the recovery process to be completed and could even take up to six weeks before he returns to first-team action.
The news comes as a massive blow to Mark Hughes’ side, who will be without their best player ahead of the busiest part of the season.
There is a chance that Butland will not feature again before Christmas, which would rule him out of Stoke’s next eight matches, including games against Tottenham and Liverpool.
Of goalkeepers that have made more than five Premier League appearances this season, only Simong Mignolet (53.8%) has a worse save success rate than Butland (56.3%).
