Barcelona received news that jeopardizes their future in the Champions League

During the last few weeks coach Xavi Hernandez and some of Barcelona's stars had been harshly criticized after the defeats against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. However, they have managed to improve their performances and, above all, achieve better results. In the Champions League they secured their place in the round of 16, probably as leaders of group H, while in La Liga they won a key match against Atlético Madrid and are in third place in the standings.

But it's not all good news. They have had a lot of problems with injuries to several important players in the squad this season. Pedri, Frenkie De Jong, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Sergio Roberto, Ronald Araujo and Jules Koundé were off the field for several weeks and have recently returned, but others will need a long recovery time. The most serious case is that of Gavi, who suffered a serious knee injury, underwent surgery and will not play again until next season.

And now another important player has joined the squad: Marc-André Ter Stegen. The German goalkeeper had not been able to be part of the team in recent weeks, as he returned from the international break with the German national team with physical problems.

Medical tests confirmed that he suffers from lower back pain and for some days the player, Barcelona and the German national team considered what was the best strategy for his recovery. Finally, this week it was decided that the most convenient thing to do is to have surgery to solve his injury.

When will he be back?

Marc-André Ter Stegen's recovery time will be at least two months. This means he will miss several La Liga games, the game vs Royal Antwerp in the Champions League, the start of the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. Barcelona's concern is that he may not recover in time for the first Champions League round of 16 match, which will be on February 13 or 20. Without their main goalkeeper, the team's chances of advancing to the next round will likely be reduced.