Ter Stegen Injury Adds to Flick’s Dilemma

FC Barcelona suffered a major blow on Sunday as Marc-André Ter Stegen was stretchered off on the cusp of halftime in their 5-1 victory against Villarreal. The 32-year-old endured a “complete rupture” of the patellar tendon in his right knee, and he looks set to spend the rest of the 2024/25 season on the sidelines.

Barcelona have been riddled with injury woes over the past few months, and despite their perfect start to league play, the banger casino bonus are clearly backing Real Madrid to win their second-straight LaLiga title over Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s side were able to narrowly edge Getafe 1-0 midweek thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s opener, and they sit four points clear of Real Madrid, having accumulated 21 points from their first seven matches.

However, if they are to deny the defending champions of a third league title in four years under Carlo Ancelotti, they’re going to have to do so without a litany of key players. 17-year-old Marc Bernal looked set to become the latest La Masia talent to emerge as a fixed cog in the Barcelona first team, but the teenager ruptured the ACL in his left knee in Barcelona’s 2-1 comeback win against Rayo Vallecano and will now miss the rest of the campaign.

Indeed, Barcelona’s midfield is teeming with both short-term and long-term injury-related absences. 2022 Golden Boy winner Gavi has been out of action since November with an ACL tear, whilst Dutch international Frenkie de Jong has not featured since April due to an ankle issue. These two, alongside Olympic and Euro champion Fermín López, are slated to return to the first-team fold in October.

Another European champion who is out for the foreseeable future is Dani Olmo. Of the €57.7 million that Barcelona spent this past summer on player transfers, €55 million went to the signing of Olmo. The 26-year-old made a seamless transition from the Bundesliga to LaLiga, finding the back of the net in each of his first three matches, but he too looks set for a month in the treatment tables after succumbing to a hamstring issue.

These mounting injury concerns have laid bare Barcelona’s lack of squad depth. In the recent 1-0 win vs. Getafe, Flick selected a midfield trio of Pablo Torre and Eric García — both of whom spent the previous season on loan at Getafe — and Marc Casadó, who was playing in the third tier with Barcelona’s reserves last season.

As for the backline, Barcelona are missing arguably their two first-choice center backs: Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araújo. Both defenders look set to be out of action until January, depriving Barcelona of much-needed physical strength and aggression at the back. All in all, Flick has his hands full when it comes to filling in the squad’s positions and setting up a competitive eleven.

“We are all sad, because I think the injury will be huge,” said Flick about Ter Stegen’s injury. “I’m really sad about this. At this point, we are not happy but it’s football, we have to accept this. At half-time, I said to the team, ‘come on, we play for Marc, give an extra 10 percent if possible’ and I think we had a great second half. It’s not easy, it was an accident, [but] it’s very tough”.

The Catalan side look set to dive into the market to replace the German goalkeeper. One month after retiring from football, Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny looks set to make a stunning return and join Barcelona. Szczęsny, 34, will likely be competing with La Masia graduate Iñaki Peña for the starting spot. As opposed to Peña, 25, who made 17 appearances for Barcelona last season, Szczęsny boasts 15 years of professional experience. After plying his trade at Arsenal, Roma and Juventus, Szczęsny may just have one more adventure left in football.