John Stones could be out for four months

Everton defender John Stones could be sidelined for almost four months as he needs surgery on an ankle injury.

The 20-year-old pulled out of the England squad this week after he was carried off on a stretcher during the defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Specialist medical advice has identified the youngster requires an operation to fix the problem and that will rule out Stones until the new year.

"Roberto Martinez has revealed that John Stones' injury requires surgery and expects the defender to be out for 10-14 weeks," said a statement on evertonfc.com.