As feared, national soccer goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen needs to undergo surgery at the start of the World Cup year.
The 33-year-old will undergo surgery on his injured thigh on Friday, Ter Stegen’s club FC Girona announced on Wednesday. The exact downtime will be announced after the operation, it said.
The keeper, on loan from FC Barcelona, has suffered a muscle injury and will probably be out for at least two months. 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.
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.”
World Cup participation in danger?
It remains to be seen whether Ter Stegen will be able to play in Germany’s goal despite another long break at the World Cup in the summer.
If Girona 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.
Ter Stegen suffered the injury last Saturday in Girona’s 0-1 defeat at bottom-placed Real Oviedo. It was only the second game he played for his new club. He was most recently represented in the German goal by Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, who is now considered the first candidate for the World Cup job.
