Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will be out for several months due to an injury sustained during Sunday’s 5-1 LaLiga win over Villarreal.
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Ter Stegen will be out for months
The goalkeeper went down after claiming a corner at the end of the first half.
Iñaki Peña replaced Ter Stegen.
The German international was taken to a hospital near Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica.
Radio station RAC1 reported that Ter Stegen could be out for as long as eight months, which would rule him out for the rest of the season.
Barca coach Hansi Flick confirmed the injury appears to be “serious.”
“It doesn’t look good for Marc,” Flick told Spanish television after the game.
“We have to wait to know the full diagnosis of the injury, but it’s true it does appear to be really serious.”
“This injury makes us sad,” Flick said in a news conference. “When you win 5-1 at Villarreal, the fans here in the stadium, also those watching on television, saw a fantastic match.
Huge blow for Barcelona
Ter Stegen’s injury dampened Barcelona’s celebrations, as the club came away with a 5-1 dominant win over Villarreal.
In addition to Ter Stegen, Barcelona is also missing Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Dani Olmo, all sidelined due to injuries.
“Also from Villarreal, [they played with] unbelievable speed and were dynamic in the match,” Flick said.
“With great goals from us, we are very happy with the 5-1, but at the end we are sad because I think the injury will be huge, but we have to wait for information.”
Despite the long injury list, Barca still have the best record in LaLiga.
“At the end, the team has good character,” Flick said.
“I would say the attitude is unbelievably good. I love it, every day, the mixture between very focused and also enjoying playing football. This is what we like.”
“We have to accept [the injuries]. Marc today, it was an accident. It’s really tough, but we have enough players. I am really proud of the team and how they played. Everyone who came in did fantastic. It was a big win for us.”
