Ter Stegen leaves Jeddah camp due to injury as Barcelona adjust Spanish Super Cup squad | OneFootball

On the eve of their Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club, FC Barcelona have been hit with an unexpected setback.

Marc Andre ter Stegen has left the team’s training camp in Jeddah and will return to Barcelona after picking up an injury during a training session, as confirmed by the club late on Tuesday night.

The German goalkeeper will travel back to the Catalan capital, accompanied by a club doctor, and will undergo medical examinations to determine the extent of the problem.

Initial indications suggest the issue is not serious, but it was enough to prevent him from completing the session and prompted the medical staff to opt for further evaluation in Barcelona.

To cover for the captain’s absence, Barcelona have called up Diego Kochen from the reserve team. The young goalkeeper will travel to Saudi Arabia and will be on the bench alongside Szczesny for the semi-final against Athletic Club, while Joan Garcia is set to continue as the undisputed first choice.

This comes immediately after Hansi Flick’s press conference, where he announced that Spanish shot-stopper Joan Garcia would be Barcelona’s starter for the two games in Jeddah, effectively closing the door on ter Stegen and Wojciech Szczesny.

Ter Stegen’s last two seasons at the Catalan club have been injury-ridden. This, coupled with poor form when fit, was what prompted Barcelona to sign a new shot-stopper in the summer, and they have hit the jackpot with Joan.

Joan’s performance in Barcelona’s last game against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium was one for the ages, in which he single-handedly kept his team in the mix and kept the scoreline at 0-0 before Dani Olmo turned the screw on the Cornellans.

While an injury is generally deemed a blow, the absence of ter Stegen is unlikely to cause a major ripple effect from a sporting perspective. The dressing room is quite used to the captain not being around at this point.

Should something happen to Joan Garcia and he had to miss a game, Barcelona also have an able deputy in Szczesny, who has been steady if not spectacular whenever given the chance. The Pole is as good as they come with regard to backup goalkeepers.

Ter Stegen’s absence is a shame for Barcelona, who were looking to offload him in January. This is only going to make that scenario more complicated, and let us wait and see how things play out.