Stoke City's Jack Butland hoping to return 'before the end of the season'
Saturday 25 March 2017 14:10, UK
Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland is hoping to be back "before the end of the season" after a year out with an ankle injury.
Butland suffered the injury while playing against Germany for England last March, and a series of setbacks in his recovery has seen him sidelined ever since, missing Euro 2016 and the entirety of the 2016/17 season so far.
His recovery is finally back on track, though, and the 24-year-old is targeting a return before the end of this campaign.
"Hopefully [I'll be back] before the end of the season, there's no reason why not," he said in an interview with Soccer AM.
"I'm feeling really good and things are progressing really well at the minute, and I'm hoping to get some game time, whether it be behind close doors or in an Under-23s game.
"Hopefully within a month I'll be getting near a Premier League pitch again."
Despite the fact he hasn't played a game yet, Butland said it's just a relief to be back out in full training after so long in the treatment room.
"It's been a long year full of setbacks, so just to be able to be back out on the pitch with gloves and boots on and doing what I love doing is great at this stage," he said.
