Hansi Flick confirms Marc-Andre ter Stegen's Barcelona return date | OneFootball

Marc-Andre ter Stegen will make his return for Barcelona against Real Valladolid on Saturday, manager Hansi Flick has confirmed.

Ter Stegen went down with a gruesome knee injury in August 2024, prompting Barcelona to lure Poland international Wojciech Szczesny out of retirement to cover for him, but has been back in training recently and was an unused substitute in the Copa del Rey final triumph over Real Madrid.

Now back to full fitness, Ter Stegen will make just his eighth appearance of the season as a starter against Valladolid.

"He will be back tomorrow," Flick told the media as he confirmed Ter Stegen will return to his starting lineup.

The boss did, however, decline to offer any assurances to either Ter Stegen or Szczesny, who has thoroughly impressed in the German's absence, over the final few weeks of the campaign.

"I think it's good for goalkeepers to rotate," he explained. "It's good for Szczesny to rest and recover. Ter Stegen is doing very well in training. He can play now. I'm not thinking about anything beyond that, just the Valladolid game, which is for Ter Stegen. I don't know what will happen beyond that."

Ahead of Saturday's game, Flick confirmed he plans to rotate his squad and give his players a chance to rest, with next week's Champions League semi-final second leg a key focus for the boss. The two sides drew 3-3 in midweek and so there is everything to play for when Barcelona head to Milan for the return fixture.

"We have to do what the medical staff say and see who can play," he acknowledged. "Important days are coming and clearly we should rotate."