Xavi confirms Ter Stegen will miss Rayo clash
The goalkeeper is out and will be replaced by Iñaki Peña
Xavi Hernández wasted no time in confirming the news that goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen will indeed miss his first match of the season as Barcelona travel to Madrid to face Rayo Vallecano in Saturday’s early kickoff in La Liga.
Xavi also confirmed that backup goalkeeper Iñaki Peña will make his first start of the campaign, and said he has full confidence in the youngster’s ability to replace the world’s best goalkeeper.
❝Iñaki Peña will play against Rayo. He is very well prepared and we have 100% confidence in him.❞
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 24, 2023
- Xavi on #RayoBarça pic.twitter.com/fVhddzs7UU
Ter Stegen pulled out of the Germany squad and returned to Catalonia after suffering a back injury in training with the national team, and the initial expectation was that Ter Stegen would not miss any time with Barça and the issue was not serious. But he didn’t take part in any training sessions during the week and is reportedly still feeling pain, and the decision was made to prevent any further injury by sitting him out against Rayo.
Barça play a monster Champions League clash against FC Porto on Tuesday and there’s hope that Ter Stegen will be ready to go for that match, but as of now he is still considered a doubt and his progress over the next few days will be very closely monitored.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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