New worries about national goalkeeper
Ter Stegen injured again: World Cup participation in danger?
Is his World Cup participation now really in danger? According to his club FC Girona, goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has suffered a muscle injury.
New setback for Marc-André ter Stegen: The German national soccer goalkeeper has to worry about his participation in the World Cup after a new injury. As his new club FC Girona announced, ter Stegen suffered an injury to his left thigh muscle. The Spanish club, for which Ter Stegen only played two games, wrote on the X platform that he will undergo further examinations to check the diagnosis and make a prognosis.
Spanish media did not rule out the possibility that the 33-year-old German national goalkeeper could be out for several weeks, which in the worst case scenario would mean the end of all World Cup hopes. Ter Stegen was loaned from FC Barcelona to FC Girona in order to gain the match practice necessary for participation in the World Cup and required by national coach Julian Nagelsmann.
According to initial investigations, the injury in the thigh was more serious than originally assumed, according to Ràdio Girona and SER Catalunya. “The prognosis is not good and although the player still needs to await further medical examinations, initial indications point to a possible downtime of two or more months,” said SER Catalunya.
Report: Return to Barcelona possible
Other Spanish media initially also reported on the basis of the two channels. “Bad news for Marc-André ter Stegen,” said “Sport”. “Mundo deportivo” wrote about “unexpected and worrying news”. Ter Stegen is said to have sustained the injury in the 1-0 defeat at Real Oviedo. However, he had played through. A statement from FC Barcelona was initially not available.
According to Cadena SER, FC Barcelona have confirmed that they are aware of the situation and will not rule out a return if the severity of the injury is confirmed. Barça still wants to wait for the final diagnosis.
Still celebrated after the debut
Ter Stegen, who has been injured several times for a long time, is on loan to Girona from FC Barcelona until the end of the season, where he no longer had a chance of a regular place under coach Hansi Flick. In the first game with his new team, ter Stegen saved the 1-1 draw against Getafe FC at home in Girona with practically the last action of the game and was celebrated for it.
By moving to the Catalan club, Ter Stegen wanted to gain the necessary match practice after two long absences – first due to a serious knee injury and then a long-term back injury – in order to be the German number one at the World Cup in the summer in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
dpa
