Barcelona has long been without the services of Captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but very soon he will be back in the fight to start matches.
Ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury in September during the 5-1 victory of Barcelona over Villarreal. He was originally expected to miss the rest of the season, but seven months later he was involved in training with his teammates while waiting for the medical green light to make his return to action.
And that will come in the coming days, according to Relo, who say that Barcelona can count on Ter Stegen for the Copa del Rey final of this weekend against Real Madrid.
Inaki Pena originally took over as the starting goalkeeper of Ter Stegen after the injury of Ter Stegen, although he was replaced by a new signing Wojciech Szczesny at the beginning of 2025. The Polish veteran has been excellent in recent months, and that is why Hansi Flick's plan has been in goals for the rest of the season.
Ter Stegen was able to see a Gametime between now and summer, but for important competitions such as this weekend's Superclasico, it will be Szczesny who gets the nod – although he has already made it clear that he is happy to hand over the German international when time comes.
Barcelona is planning to have Ter Stegen and Szczesny as their first two team keepers for next season, with Pena leaving in the summer. Flick can choose to give the captain his starting place in August, although that can cause frustration with supporters, who are very impressed by the last since he started the starting line-up in January.
Ter Stegen will hope that he can collect the medal from another winner with Barcelona on Saturday, even if he does not play a part in La Cartuja.