Marc-André ter Stegen’s World Cup dream is in danger of being shattered. As his loan club Girona confirmed on Wednesday, the German national goalkeeper will have to undergo surgery this coming Friday. He will then most likely be sidelined for a long time.
At 33, Marc-André ter Stegen, who will turn 34 at the end of April, is still chasing a big dream: to stand between the posts for Germany in a World Cup final. The tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico this summer was firmly in the sights of the Mönchengladbach native. However, his latest serious injury puts that plan in serious jeopardy.
On January 20, Ter Stegen left his home club Barcelona with a heavy heart to gain some much-needed playing time at FC Girona, which is threatened with relegation. Right from his debut—a 1-1 draw against FC Getafe—Ter Stegen impressed the Catalan press. He also played the full 90 minutes in last Saturday’s 0-1 defeat to newly promoted Real Oviedo.
However, reports then began to circulate that ter Stegen had suffered a serious muscle injury in the away game. On Monday, Girona confirmed the injury to his left hamstring and said that further tests would be carried out to determine the severity of the injury.
On Wednesday afternoon, Girona officially announced that ter Stegen will have to undergo surgery this Friday. The experienced goalkeeper is now facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines. Girona announced that it would wait until after the operation to provide information on the exact length of his absence.
National coach Julian Nagelsmann was not very optimistic on Tuesday: “The only thing that matters right now is getting healthy, calmly and without pressure. We are all behind him.”
A medical record that is hard to digest
This is really bad news for ter Stegen, especially considering his medical history over the past three years: in November 2023, a back injury and surgery sidelined him for months. This was followed by a torn patellar tendon in September 2024, before another back operation became necessary at the end of July 2025.
After his Barcelona comeback in the Copa del Rey on December 16, former national coach Hansi Flick made it clear that ter Stegen’s successor, Joan Garcia, enjoyed his absolute trust and that his compatriot’s appearance was merely an exception. Ter Stegen was forced to “flee” to FC Girona, where he immediately became a source of hope. A role he will now be unable to fulfill for some time. The national coach also has to think about who to put in goal. At the end of March, the DFB team will test their readiness for the World Cup year against Switzerland and Ghana. These are the last games before the provisional squad for the final tournament is announced.
