Barcelona coach joined Girona for a six-month stay but is now sidelined for up to two
Marc-Andre ter Stegen must be absolutely frustrated with himself. The German has just sustained his third major injury in less than a year, putting his club career and World Cup hopes in disarray.
Ter Stegen joined Girona on loan from Barcelona in January in order to play regular football until the end of the season. Without that, the German national team have warned him, he will most likely be second choice, or possibly not even on the plane to North America in the summer.
But a hamstring injury means the goalkeeper is likely to be sidelined for more than two months, according to sources in Girona.
It’s worth going through the timeline of his injuries. Ter Stegen was Barcelona No 1 at the start of the 2024-25 season, but after a knee injury he missed two-thirds of the season and by the time he returned veteran Wojciech Szczesny was first choice.
A further dispute with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick meant that he remained on the back burner, so to speak, and in the summer, the club signed the younger, promising Joan Garcia from Espanyol.
Garcia was almost certain to be first choice and Barcelona tried to push Ter Stegen out of the door in the summer. But a back injury meant that a move was scuppered, and his salary space was used to register new players, particularly Garcia and Marcus Rashford.
After missing nearly half the season, Ter Stegen returned to the squad and featured against Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey. But then he was benched in the next fixture in that competition against Racing Santander, finally convincing him to seek regular football elsewhere.
That took him to Girona and he started their last two games against Getafe and Real Oviedo. But the latest injury, which will take away at least one-third of the six-month deal, means that he is unlikely to remain at the club.
He is likely to return to Barcelona just two weeks after saying his goodbyes and leaving for Girona.
Barca coach Flick said: “I just heard the news. I didn’t speak with him, but I am very sorry for him. But we have to wait for the results and see what happens.”
