Butland becomes seventh England player to withdraw from squad

Oli Fisher

England have suffered another injury blow on the eve of their friendly with Germany after goalkeeper Jack Butland pulled out of the squad.

The Football Association announced on Thursday night that the Stoke stopper had broken his finger in training.

An FA statement added: “The goalkeeper has now returned to Stoke City to be assessed by his club’s medical staff.”

Butland’s unfortunate omission continues a trend for England and boss Gareth Southgate, who has lost several players to injury throughout the week.

Tottenham trio Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Harry Winks were joined by the likes of Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph and Jordan Henderson on Tuesday.

Such is the list of players unavailable to Southgate he could put together an XI based solely on those receiving treatment.

For Butland personally, this carries unfortunate shades of a previous clash with Germany.

The 24-year-old fractured his ankle during a 2016 meeting with the Germans and missed a year of football as a result. He has returned to form and fitness and it was widely reported he would have started at Wembley.

The FA said Southgate would make no decisions over a replacement until after Friday’s game, leaving Joe Hart and Jordan Pickford as the contenders to face Germany.