Jack Butland will not be available for Sam Allardyce's first match as England manager after injuring his ankle in training, Stoke boss Mark Hughes has said.
The injury is expected to keep Butland out for weeks, but Hughes is adamant the World Cup qualifying game against Slovakia on Sept. 4 will come too soon for him.
"He won't be involved in that," Hughes said, in quotes reported by the Guardian. "It's important that he gets back to playing and training and he'll need a two-week period after the injury where he needs to get up to speed. He won't be ready for England."
Great news from my scans, ankle is solid but I've damaged some scar tissue which is giving me the pain, will settle down quick, back soon ����
- Jack Butland (@JackButland_One) August 13, 2016
Scans have shown the injury is not a long-term one, but with it being the same ankle that Butland fractured during England's 3-2 friendly win against Germany, Hughes is keen not to rush his No. 1 back into action.
"We don't want to put a timescale on it but we've had good news," Hughes said. "It should settle down quickly and it's a matter of weeks rather than anything more significant thankfully."
With Butland ruled out and Joe Hart not selected for Manchester City's opening Premier League fixture of the season, a 2-1 win against Sunderland, Allardyce could turn to Southampton's Fraser Forster or Tom Heaton of Burnley at Wembley.