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Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland picked ahead of 'player of the year' Lee Grant to prepare fit-again No 1 for future fixtures, says Mark Hughes

Stoke City's fit-again goalkeeper Jack Butland was picked ahead of Lee Grant for the club's last three Premier League games as the England international needed to prepare for future fixtures, manager Mark Hughes has said.

Butland returned to action in April after a year on the sidelines with an ankle injury and was chosen over Grant, who has kept nine clean sheets in 30 appearances for the club this season.

Butland sustained a broken ankle in March last year but participated in Stoke's pre-season fixtures before a recurrence sidelined him for a majority of the current season.