England keeper Butland says to miss Euro 2016 due to injury
REUTERS - England goalkeeper Jack Butland is likely to miss the UEFA European Championship in France this summer after fracturing an ankle during Saturday's 3-2 friendly win over Germany, he said on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old will also miss the rest of the Premier League season, a big blow for Stoke City, who are eighth in the table and have ambitions to qualify for the Europa League.
"I don't think it (Euro 2016) is going to be an option for me now to be honest because I won't be able to play again between now and the end of the season," Butland said on the club's website (www.stokecityfc.com).
"I will have an operation on Tuesday night ... It isn't the challenge that I expected or wanted this summer but I am going to approach it with the right mentality and learn from it, both physically and mentally."
England are currently without injured first-choice keeper Joe Hart, leaving Southampton's Fraser Forster in pole position to start in Tuesday's friendly against the Netherlands at Wembley.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)