England Under 21 'keeper returns to parent club as Lee Grant closes in on first team return

Jack Butland has returned to Stoke City after completing a five-week loan spell with Derby County.

The England Under 21 Captain came in after Lee Grant was ruled out for up to a month with an injury he sustained in the 3-0 victory away to Reading last month.

Butland went on to start for the Rams the very next day and put in a stand out display as Steve McClaren's side defeated Blackpool 1-0 at Bloomfield Road to move to the top of the Sky Bet Championship.

The 21-year-old went on to feature in five more of Derby's Championship fixtures - the last of which was in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Watford.

Butland kept two clean sheets out of his six games in a Derby shirt.

A full interview with Eric Steele looking back at Butland's time with the Club will be online across dcfc.co.uk this afternoon.

Tweets by @ dcfcofficial