For Germany and Barca, this is a huge setback
Bad news for Marc-André ter Stegen and the German national team. The FC Barcelona keeper, currently on loan at Girona, has suffered a severe injury that could keep him out for up to four months (via RAC1). If the prognosis is bad enough, the loan may be terminated and he could end up back at his parent club for the remainder of the season.
Per the report, the injury is described as a partial tear of the hamstring of the left leg, with tendon damage suspected. If that last part holds true, ter Stegen could need surgery that keeps him out for up to four months minimum. That would basically cause him to miss the entire rest of the season, and make Girona terminate their loan agreement with Barcelona.
If that comes to pass, it’s possible that the player may not play another minute of football before the World Cup. That puts his hopes of being called up to the national team in jeopardy, even though Julian Nagelsmann has repeatedly reaffirmed his stance that ter Stegen is his first choice keeper for the role. Other players like Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann and Bayern Munich’s own Jonas Urbig (or a possible Manuel Neuer comeback) will surely be discussed.
This is a bitter pill for the player to swallow, given that his move to Girona was made with the promise that he would start and get enough game time to play himself back to fitness. Now it remains to be seen if Germany will stick by him, or hand the reigns to someone else when the time comes.
Category: General Sports
