Diego Kochen arrives in Saudi Arabia to cover for injured Barcelona captain | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are hours away from taking on Athletic Club in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. Last night, they were handed a blow when it emerged that club captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen had suffered an injury and left the team’s camp to return to the Catalan capital.

While the German goalkeeper was not expected to start or even feature in the semi-final or a potential final, he was valuable depth in the squad should something happen to no. 1, Joan Garcia. His absence left Barcelona short of a goalkeeper.

It is never advisable to go into a game with just two goalkeepers on the bench, and Barcelona chose to call up reserve-team keeper Diego Kochen. According to Mundo Deportivo, the American has now arrived in Jeddah and linked up with the squad.

Kochen arrived just before lunch and was greeted by Hansi Flick before joining his senior team-mates. He is definitely not going to be involved in the game tonight, but this opportunity will provide him with a lot of exposure.

Meanwhile, ter Stegen’s injury is not good news for the club. Barcelona are desperately looking to offload him this winter transfer window, and a potential loan deal is now in limbo. Even for ter Stegen, this is not good news.

With a World Cup round the corner, Julian Nagelsmann has made it very clear that the veteran shot-stopper needs to be playing regular football to be considered for selection. That is definitely not going to happen at Barcelona, and let us wait and see how his future plays out.