Marc-André ter Stegen, who has been dropped by FC Barcelona, will not leave the Catalan club despite being shown the door. Back surgery will keep the German international out of action for several months.
He had only just returned from a long injury, but now Marc-André ter Stegen will once again be missing from FC Barcelona. As the Catalans’ actual captain announced today on his Instagram channel, the 33-year-old will undergo further back surgery and will therefore be out for up to three months.
The cause is discomfort that had already sidelined him for a good two months in the 2023/24 season. “Unfortunately, I’m not pain-free,” said ter Stegen, who described the procedure as “the fastest and safest way to make a full recovery.” “Fortunately, the rehabilitation is manageable and the road back is clear,” said the veteran, summarising his time out.
Ter Stegen is particularly sorry to let his Catalan teammates down: “Emotionally, it hurts a lot not to be able to help the team at the moment.” It was “a complicated day” for the keeper, who is actually “in very good shape physically and athletically.”
World Cup chances in jeopardy?
However, the extent to which this sporting loss will affect FC Barcelona is open to question. After the transfer of Joan Garcia, the German national goalkeeper was only third choice at the Catalan club, which would also have liked to save the former Gladbach player’s salary. As a result, there had been repeated rumors of a transfer for ter Stegen, which have now been put to rest for the time being with the operation.
This is bad news for the goalkeeper, who has long been in the shadow of Manuel Neuer in the DFB jersey. At another club, the 44-time international might have had a better chance to prove himself ahead of the 2026 World Cup. It remains to be seen how much his chances of becoming the number one goalkeeper in national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team will be diminished.
What is clear, meanwhile, is that Nagelmann will have to find an alternative for the upcoming international breaks. Ter Stegen will miss the World Cup qualifiers on September 4 and 7 (Slovakia and Northern Ireland) and on October 10 and 13 (Luxembourg and Northern Ireland). He could be an option again for the final matches in November at the earliest.
