On Friday, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann announced that Marc-Andre Ter Stegen would miss their two matches during the international back after picking up “acute back pain”. It meant that he was unable to train, and subsequently, he is not fit enough to play.
Nagelsmann also confirmed that Ter Stegen would be returning to Barcelona to continue his recovery. The 31-year-old is the undisputed starter for Xavi Hernandez, so there would have been some concerns when it was announced that he had picked up an injury.
At this stage, Barcelona are not concerned by Ter Stegen’s injury, and he should be fit and available for the match against Rayo Vallecano next weekend. This is according to Sport, who also say that further tests will be conducted this weekend to determine the full extent of the injury.
Given that Barcelona are under pressure at the moment due to poor performances, the last thing they need is to lose their starting keeper to injury. There will be finger crossed in Catalonia that Ter Stegen will be okay for next weekend and beyond.