Serious setback for Marc-André ter Stegen: According to consistent media reports from Spain, the national soccer goalkeeper, who was on loan to FC Girona, has suffered a muscle injury and will be out for up to two months.
Marc-André ter Stegen turned away from the action in disappointment at the final whistle. 0-1 at the bottom of the table, Real Oviedo, was not at all to the taste of the Girona FC goalkeeper. But after the sobering defeat last Saturday, things got much worse for ter Stegen: after another injury, the eternally unlucky guy’s World Cup dream is hanging by a thread, and national coach Julian Nagelsmann will probably have to reschedule for the tournament.
World Cup participation in acute danger
According to Spanish media, his number one has suffered a more serious muscle injury and is expected to be out for up to two months. There is even talk of a possible further operation and that Girona wants to return the loan from FC Barcelona to Ter Stegen’s parent club by means of a clause. That would probably mean the collapse of the 33-year-old’s World Cup dream, for which Barca coach Hansi Flick has no use.
“I don’t know anything else”said Flick on Monday afternoon, when the reports of another setback for Ter Stegen were just an hour old. So far he has not spoken to Ter Stegen himself or to Barcelona’s sports director Deco, “because I was at training”. That’s why he wanted to “wait”before he explains it in more detail. Just this much: “I feel very sorry for him, but we have to wait for the results and see how he really feels.”
“Mundo Deportivo”: “Hard blow”
Not good, if you believe the Spanish media. The “AS” struck “Alarm”“Sport” wrote from one literally “painful injury”“Mundo Deportivo” spoke of one “hard blow”. In fact: If the reports turn out to be true, Ter Stegen would not only miss the start of the DFB team’s World Cup year on March 27th in Basel against Switzerland and on March 30th in Stuttgart against Ghana. If he returns to the stands at Barca, he could no longer be recommended for the tournament – not even after his recovery.
Only the second appearance for Girona
However, Nagelsmann and DFB sports director Rudi Völler had emphasized several times that Ter Stegen urgently needed match practice in order to be allowed to stand in goal at the World Cup. That’s why he decided to move to nearby Girona for the winter, where he immediately became a regular. After his successful debut against Getafe (1-1), the game in Oviedo was only his second appearance.
Injuries and exclusion at Barca
The fact that he has now injured himself again fits the image of the unlucky guy. As Manuel Neuer’s “eternal” crown prince, he only emerged from the captain’s oversized shadow after his resignation from the DFB team after the 2024 European Championship. But since then, injuries and being sidelined at Barca have shaped the path of the 44-time national player. In his absence he was well represented by Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann.
