Football World Cup
Ter Stegen will be out for months – participation in the World Cup is very doubtful
National goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has to take a break for months after thigh surgery. It is more than questionable whether he can still make it to the World Cup.
For national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, participation in the World Cup in the summer is becoming a distant prospect. The 33-year-old announced on Instagram that he would be out for “several months” due to his operation. “I’m a positive person. I’ve always had that attitude and have maintained it through every challenge I’ve faced, but this challenge is particularly difficult for me.” Ter Stegen suffered a thigh injury at his new club FC Girona and will undergo surgery on Friday.
This will make it difficult for him to take part in the World Cup (June 11th to July 19th). The goalkeeper will definitely miss the first international matches this year. Coach Julian Nagelsmann gathers his first 2026 squad on March 23rd at the headquarters in Herzogenaurach in preparation for the international test matches in Switzerland and against Ghana.
“The worst happened last weekend”
“Last weekend the worst happened: I got injured during the game,” wrote ter Stegen. He was received in Girona with a lot of “affection and warmth”. “I really wanted to be part of the team and help achieve our common goal.” Now his role has “completely changed,” but he wants to continue supporting the team. “I will come back,” ter Stegen also announced.
The 44-time national player was only loaned out from FC Barcelona to FC Girona in January in order to gain the match practice necessary for participation in the World Cup and required by national coach Nagelsmann. He only played two games for his new club, which is fighting relegation in the Primera División.
Nagelsmann had already commented on the injury on Tuesday: “Marc was just back and on a really good path, we were really looking forward to his return to the national team. Now we have to continue to do without him – but for Marc personally this setback is of course much harder.” At the moment the only thing that matters to the goalkeeper is getting healthy in peace. “We’re all behind him.”
dpa
