Barcelona has been rocked by multiple waves of injuries in recent seasons, with important players missing significant amounts of time, losing them trophies.
Due to multiple players’ absences from the defense line during the previous campaign, the Catalans were unable to defeat Bayern Munich and Inter Milan and were ultimately demoted to the UEFA Europa League.
Barcelona’s season has been somewhat disrupted this year by injuries to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong, particularly in the league.
Xavi and company have suffered a great deal as a result of ter Stegen’s back injury, even though the others were essentially replaced by players like Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, Fermin Lopez, and others.
The German custodian underwent surgery late in 2023 in the hopes of making a full recovery after missing play since mid-November due to back issues. His return was anticipated by the middle of February.
Finally, there is an update regarding his return, and according to RAC1, ter Stegen has been making good progress. In the upcoming weeks, the coaching staff will put more pressure on him to see how he reacts.
In any case, it is anticipated that he will return in time for Barcelona’s Champions League round of 16 match against Napoli on February 21.
Since ter Stegen’s injury, Inaki Pena had taken over as starter. Although the Spaniard has occasionally shown flashes of brilliance, most people, especially supporters, are not happy with how the Spaniard has performed.
In his 14 games this season, the 24-year-old has made a few blunders. These include handing up the ball against Almeria, positioning poorly against Rayo Vallecano, and generally performing poorly in goal against Real Betis.
