Barcelona goalkeeper and captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen is to have knee surgery on Monday after suffering a ruptured patella tendon during Sunday’s La Liga victory against Villarreal.
The Germany international was carried off on a stretcher during the first half after his right knee buckled as he landed while catching the ball.
Barcelona say they will provide a further update after his operation, with no timescale yet put on the 32-year-old’s recovery.
Ter Stegen has made more than 400 appearances for the club since joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014.
Hansi Flick’s side beat Villarreal 3-1 to maintain their 100% record in La Liga and move four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Given Ter Stegen will be out of action for at least eight months, Barcelona will need a replacement and are said to be assessing whether they should make an emergency free-agent signing or wait until the January transfer window. Barcelona are considering signing another goalkeeper after Marc-Andre ter Stegen picked up a season-ending knee.
In the meantime, former Manchester City and Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has stated he would ‘come out of retirement’ and play for the club for the remainder of the 2024-2025 campaign.
‘If Barcelona want me, I will be ready to come out of retirement’, he told WinWin All Sports, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Bravo played 75 times for Barcelona during his two-year spell at the club. During that time he won nine nine major titles, including the league and cup double in both of his two years, as well as the Champions League and the Clubs World Cup.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
