Doubts creeping in at Barcelona about captain’s long-term fitness; player’s physical condition raise alarms | OneFootball

Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s future has become a hot topic at Barcelona this summer, as the club look to make new signing Joan Garcia their number one goalkeeper next season.

Barcelona, therefore, are actively looking for suitors for ter Stegen, knowing his presence could be more of a liability at the club, both from a sporting and an economic perspective.

Ter Stegen, for his part, is determined to continue at Barcelona and is furious at the club for trying to force him out of Camp Nou. However, the German is not being helped by his injury condition.

Ter Stegen’s injury raises alarm bells

According to Catalunya Radio, serious doubts have emerged within Barcelona regarding Ter Stegen’s long-term fitness.

The club are particularly concerned about his knee, the same one he injured back in 2018.

At the time, Ter Stegen spent over a year and a half playing through chronic pain before eventually undergoing arthroscopic surgery.

Ter Stegen’s future is the real talking point at Barcelona (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

The injury seems to have reappeared, and this time, the situation may be even more delicate. The club, therefore, do not believe the German is ready for full-intensity competition.

While there’s hope he can regain full fitness, it would take time and, more crucially, a consistent run of minutes, something that Barcelona are currently unable to guarantee.

As mentioned earlier, Barça have identified Joan Garcia as their main-choice goalkeeper and keeping that in mind, the club are not in a position to offer him anything more than a second-fiddle role.

But with ter Stegen also looking to remain Germany’s number one for the FIFA World Cup 2026, that won’t be an option for Barcelona either.

A move away from Camp Nou, therefore, could be the most logical decision for the former Gladbach shot-stopper.