MX23RW : Thursday, November 14 16:19:20| >> :120:71520:71520:

Jack Butland 'still up to three months from return to fitness'

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland could face another three months on the sidelines, having undergone a second round of surgery on his injured ankle.

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is still two to three months away from returning to action, according to reports.

The 23-year-old has not played since breaking his ankle during England's friendly against Germany on March 27, suffering a number of setbacks in his recovery from the injury.

Butland was forced to undergo a second round of surgery on the problem last week and could now be sidelined until March 2017, leaving him out of action for almost a year.

The England international was initially expected to return in time for the start of this season, but after aggravating the injury he was left needing an operation in September.

Butland had been due to return from that earlier this month, but after feeling pain during the warm-up to an Under-23 game he has now undergone another procedure.

The continued absence of the highly-rated goalkeeper is likely to force Stoke into the market for a new shot-stopper in January, with Lee Grant thought to be their first choice after he impressed while on loan from Derby County.

ID:287907: cacheID:287907:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2106:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Lee Grant for Derby County on January 10, 2015
Read Next:
Hughes: 'Derby pricing Grant out of Stoke move'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!