Sunday night brought a bittersweet feeling at FC Barcelona as they thumped Villarreal 5-1 away from home but saw captain and first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffer a serious knee injury.
Barcelona confirmed earlier today that the 32-year-old had ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee completely and will undergo surgery this afternoon.
It is now expected that Ter Stegen could be out for a period of eight to nine months, effectively ruling him out for the rest of the season.
Ancelotti sends a message
Following the injury to Ter Stegen, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has sent a message to the Barcelona captain, calling him ‘one of the best goalkeepers’, and hoping for his swift recovery.
“I want to say that I’m very sad to see players as important as Ter Stegen, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, get injured. I hope he can recover soon,” said Ancelotti at a press conference earlier today.
Not stopping there, the Real Madrid boss insisted that he hoped that the number of injuries occurring to players leads to a reconsideration of the number of games that footballers have to play.
“At the moment we can’t do much, because as I said nothing is going to change this season, but we can make a reflection. The world of football should do so,” he remarked.
Courtois’ heartfelt message
Before Ancelotti, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also sent a heartfelt message to Ter Stegen, taking to social media to wish the Barcelona captain a healthy and speedy recovery.
“I’m sorry about the injury Marc-Andre ter Stegen, it really hurt to see you leave the field like that. I hope you can recover soon and we can see you in goal again,” he wrote on X, with a picture of himself and Ter Stegen.
The Barcelona captain is set to undergo surgery today itself, following which the club are expected to provide further information about his potential recovery time.
