Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has said that the injury to goalkeeper Marc- Andre Ter Stegen has come as a major shock to them as the Barcelona man is set to be sidelined for atleast 8 months. Ter Stegen suffered the injury during Barca’s 5-1 win over Villareal on Sunday, September 22. Just before halftime, Ter Stegen took a hard fall after leaping for a ball and was visibly in distress as he was stretchered off the field. The impact was on his right knee, the same one he had undergone surgery on during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The club confirmed Ter Stegen’s injury, announcing that the goalkeeper sustained a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday, September 23. This added to Barca’s growing injury list with a total of 8 players currently out with injury.
“Tests carried out on the first team player Marc ter Stegen confirm that he has a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee. On Monday afternoon he will undergo a surgical process and once complete a new update will be released,” Barcelona said in a statement.
“This season the Barça captain has started every game. His appearance against Villarreal was his 289th in a Blaugrana shirt and took him past legendary Blaugrana keeper Antoni Ramallets into third place on the all-time list of appearances for goalkeepers,” it further added.
We will miss Ter Stegen
Speaking to the German FA’s official website, Nagelsmann said that Ter Stegen would be missed by Germany on and off the pitch and will offer the 32-year-old all the support he needs during his recovery process.
“The news of Marc’s injury was a big shock for us,” said Nagelsmann.
“We will miss him a lot on and off the pitch,” Nagelsmann told the German FA (DFB) website on Monday.
“We wish Marc all the best … we will always be there for him on his way back.”
With Ter Stegen out, Germany find themselves in a tough spot as they have now lost both their No.1s. Manuel Neuer had called time on his international career and Ter Stegen was tasked with replacing him.
Nagelsmann opted for two uncapped goalkeepers, TSG Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann and VfB Stuttgart’s Alexander Nubel, as backups in recent Nations League matches against Hungary and the Netherlands. Fulham’s Bernd Leno, with nine international caps, had been called up in March but did not feature in any games.
Germany, currently leading their Nations League group with four points from two matches, are set to face Bosnia and the Netherlands in October.
