As feared, national soccer goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will have to undergo surgery at the start of the World Cup year. His club FC Girona announced this on Wednesday. This is not good news for national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Ter Stegen will therefore undergo surgery on his injured thigh on Friday. The exact downtime will be announced after the operation, it said.
Ter Stegen suffered the muscle injury last Saturday in Girona’s 0-1 defeat at bottom-placed Real Oviedo. The keeper, who is on loan from FC Barcelona, will probably be out for at least two months.
It was only the second game he played for his new club. It could also have been his last mission. According to recent reports in the Spanish media, Girona is considering sending Ter Stegen back to Barca due to the injury – this is possible due to a clause in the loan agreement.
Nagelsmann: “Incredibly bitter”
Julian Nagelsmann had already confirmed that he would be missing his number one for the start of the World Cup year with the international matches on March 27th in Basel against Switzerland and on March 30th in Stuttgart against Ghana. “This is incredibly bitter”said the national coach and emphasized: “At the moment the only thing that matters is getting healthy, in peace and without pressure. We are all behind him.”
It remains to be seen whether Ter Stegen will be able to play in goal at the World Cup in the summer despite another long break. He was most recently represented there by Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, who is now considered the first candidate for the World Cup job.
If Girona actually sends him back to Barcelona, where he no longer plays a role under coach Hansi Flick, he would lack the much-needed match practice for the tournament. Nagelsmann mentioned this as a prerequisite for a World Cup appearance.
