Marc-Andre Ter Stegen expects to return for Barcelona season run-in | OneFootball

Barcelona suffered a very big blow earlier in the season when Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was ruled out with a serious knee injury, sustained during the 5-1 victory at Villarreal in September. It meant that Hansi Flick would be without his starting goalkeeper and captain for an extended period of time, with many believing that the German international would not play again in the current campaign.

Ter Stegen’s absence meant that Wojciech Szczesny was brought in as a replacement, and despite having started behind Inaki Pena in the pecking order, he has taken over as number one goalkeeper in the last few weeks. However, the Polish veteran could also lose the gloves later this season.

That’s because Ter Stegen is aiming to return for Barcelona’s final few matches of the season, as reported by Sport. The 32-year-old’s recovery is going much better than expected, with the latest medical checks confirming that he is ahead of schedule.

Earlier this weekend, Flick provided an update on Ter Stegen’s recovery, and the goalkeeper has reported notified the coaching staff that he believes that he will be back in contention to play in May. This would be a crucial time for Barcelona, who are hoping to still be in the hunt for the La Liga and Champions League titles at that stage.

Barcelona have struggled in the goals conceded department this season, although that is perhaps down to the aggressive style of play that Flick has his side playing. Szczesny has had a number of high-profile errors in recent weeks, so if Ter Stegen is back before the end of the season, there would certainly be chances of him to regain the gloves immediately.

However, it is much more likely that he does not feature for Barcelona again this season, even if he is back fit. It would be a big risk to play someone that has not featured for eight months at the crucial period of the season, and Flick will be aware of this.