Barcelona face Champions League player registration dilemma | OneFootball

Barcelona can reportedly only include one of Marc-Andre ter Stegen or Wojciech Szczesny in their squad for the Champions League knockout stages, forcing Hansi Flick into an awkward decision over the coming weeks.

Ter Stegen captained Barcelona in their first Champions League game of the season but has not appeared in the competition since tearing his patella tendon in September. The Catalan giants ushered Szczesny out of retirement and the experienced Pole has served as the club's increasingly reliable number one since the turn of the year.

Now that Ter Stegen has returned to training, Flick will surely be tempted to line up with his skipper and starting shot-stopper. Yet, the only way that Ter Stegen can be included for Barcelona's Champions League fixtures is if Szczesny is removed from contention entirely.

Outfield players cannot be added to Champions League squads after the February deadline but there are special dispensations for goalkeepers as outlined in UEFA's regulations: "Once the injured or ill goalkeeper is fit to be fielded again, he can resume his position in place of his substitute.

"The return of the original goalkeeper must be announced to the UEFA administration 24 hours before the next match in which the original goalkeeper is due to play."

Barcelona turned down the chance to reinstate Ter Stegen to the squad during the January transfer window but they still retain the option of bringing him back in, according to ESPN.

Wojciech Szczesny has impressed while filling in for Marc-Andre ter Stegen this season / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages

Ter Stegen, for his part, is raring to go. "I'm back after six months and I'm feeling physically better than ever, with lots of energy," he told BILD's podcast Phrasenmaher. "I have a super team around me. I'm handling the physical strain and I'm hungry to play soon - but I don't have a specific date in mind.

"If I can get fit and training goes well, I'll give the coach a nudge when I'm ready."

Flick remained defiantly non-committal on the prospect of choosing between Ter Stegen or Szczesny. "We will see, step by step," the German boss warned this week. "When Ter Stegen feels better, we will see what happens.

"The good news is that he's in a good moment. Everything is going in the right direction and we are very happy he's in this stage. We will see what happens."

The prospect of choosing between Ter Stegen and Szczesny could become an increasingly frequent headache for Flick. Barcelona are poised to hand the latter a contract extension this summer after his impressive form this calendar year, giving Ter Stegen a rival across all competitions next season.

Both goalkeepers can be freely interchanged in La Liga for the remainder of the current campaign.