Jack Butland is confident that the Stoke City central defensive area is strong enough to cope with the loss of Ryan Shawcross.

Stoke were dealt with a huge blow recently after it was revealed that captain Shawcross would be ruled out for at least two months with a back injury.

Goalkeeper Butland has reiterated that the loss of the former Manchester United youngster is a huge blow for Stoke but has backed the likes of Geoff Cameron, Marc Muniesa, Philipp Wollscheid and Marc Wilson to fill the void of their injured skipper.

Butland told the Stoke Sentinel: "Ryan's record and his performances speak for themselves. He's the captain for a reason. He's a leader and a phenomenal player as well, he's brilliant.

"To lose him is a big loss, but we do have other players who are more than capable of filling the void while he is not there.

"The likes of Geoff, Marc, Philipp and Muniesa are top class centre-halves who will be brilliant replacements for us."