Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has conceded that the Potters "will miss" Jack Butland in the final weeks of the season.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper picked up a serious ankle injury while representing England during the recent international break and underwent surgery on the fracture earlier this week.
Hughes has officially ruled Butland out for the season and also Euro 2016, but expects to have the stopper available for the start of pre-season training ahead of the new campaign.
"We are disappointed for him, but from my point of view, as a club and a team, we will miss him because he has played a big part in what we have achieved," Hughes told Stoke's official website.
"We won't end the season with Jack but he will come back stronger. By all accounts the operation was successful and straightforward, and we expect to have him available to us for the start of pre-season.
"It's just a real shame for him that he won't be able to feature for us over the final seven games or at the European Championship in the summer."
Reserve goalkeepers Shay Given and Jakob Haugaard will fight to replace Butland for Stoke's final seven league matches.
Matt Law
