Injury forces Joe Hart out of Italian clash

Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland inched closer to making a remarkable England debut as Shrewsbury’s Joe Hart pulled out of the squad for Wednesday’s friendly with Italy.

Manchester City shot-stopper Hart and Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge have both been ruled out of the encounter in Berne with back and toe injuries respectively.

However, manager Roy Hodgson has taken the decision not to call-up any replacements, meaning Butland and Norwich’s John Ruddy are the only keepers left in his squad. Neither man has won a senior cap.

For Ruddy, it would be a fitting end to a summer that started with him being forced to pull out of the tournament after breaking a finger on his first day of training.

When Ruddy pulled out, Butland was called up, even though the 19-year-old’s only previous experience at senior level was in League Two for Cheltenham last season.

Although Butland did not make an appearance in Poland and Ukraine, he made a big impression on the England coaching staff and impressed for Great Britain during their Olympic campaign.

It was initially suggested Butland would only meet up this week to further his experience and would be released back to Birmingham for their Capital One Cup clash with Barnet at St Andrew’s on Tuesday.

Instead, Butland will now travel to Switzerland knowing he could end up adding a full international cap to his four Olympic appearances without playing a game higher than the fourth tier of the English game.