Injured Barcelona star now likely to return to the field before the end of this season – Report | OneFootball

The first half of the 2024-25 season was not easy for FC Barcelona on the injury front, as the Blaugranes saw several important players miss significant game time due to physical issues.

Things have improved lately, with the returns of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Ronald Araújo, etc., and as things stand, the only two players who still remain unavailable due to long-term injuries are Marc Bernal and Marc-André ter Stegen.

The goalkeeper suffered a torn patellar tendon at the end of September and was expected to remain on the sidelines for around 8-9 months, thus missing the rest of the season.

However, according to SPORT, the German is intending to return to play before the season ends, and with the way his recovery is going, hopes of him achieving this objective are getting higher.

The report mentions that the Barcelona captain’s recovery four months after his injury is going significantly more positively than was previously expected. In fact, he is already training on the ground, and also on the pitch at times.

In the press conference ahead of the game against Sevilla, Hansi Flick also talked about his situation and revealed that Ter Stegen has already started working with the goalkeeping coach, De la Fuente.

The German has already told the coaching staff to expect him to be available in the month of May, when there will still be five La Liga games left to play and another two potential games in the UEFA Champions League, the second leg of the semi-final and the final.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are more cautious than the goalie himself, and it remains to be seen whether Hansi Flick will risk taking him to the pitch in this crucial phase of the season after Ter Stegen has missed almost the entire season.

In this regard, the Blaugrana coach can take cues from the situation of the Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who played in the UCL final after missing most of the last season with an ACL injury.