Ter Stegen continues to play for Barcelona despite knee problems. It’s affecting his performances

Marc-André ter Stegen’s recent performances in Barcelona are far from convincing. They have renewed the debate about his future, as well as raised more doubts about the state of his knee. The goalkeeper has already undergone surgery twice. Moreover, the problems with this injury may be far from over.

“He doesn’t have the strength or the ability to react like he used to. He gets a lot of goals on his right, most of the time he had his foot on the ground and didn’t jump in that direction,” noted AC Talent goalkeeping analyst Andrés Palop. The statistics show that apart from penalties and crossed balls, the German hasn’t really caught eleven more balls from his right side than from his left this season.

People watching Barcelona’s training sessions report that Ter Stegen usually launches all attacks from his left foot, regardless of the direction of the ball’s flight. His right knee makes it difficult for him to play and there have even been suggestions that he should repeat the stem cell therapy he underwent two years ago.

Then-coach Quique Setien didn’t know how serious the problem was because the goalkeeper didn’t tell anyone about it. The injury came back and forced the German goalkeeper to undergo surgery.

Currently, Barcelona suspect he is struggling with a chronic illness and Ter Stegen is playing all the matches despite the pain, which is affecting his performances.

“With a knee that has such ailments, he has to work every day to strengthen the muscles in his legs. Ter Stegen is not a fan of the gym or a rehabilitation plan with different types of exercises that can help him recover fully,” sources close to the club said.

In the case of such injuries, you need to strengthen the muscles so that the leg does not get overloaded again. You need to strengthen the tendons, get balance and automatic brain control over the knee. Most important are the back thigh muscles, which are responsible for stabilizing the knee.

“Any recovery from injury must be done under the supervision of experts. A footballer cannot have his own exercise program, moreover with such a complicated injury. No surgeon wants to see such an injury,” reveals Dr. Pedro Luis Ripoll.

The goalkeeper is aware of the hype surrounding his actions and has made it clear that he does not like the media criticism. He did this, among other things, at the press conference before the Napoli game, when he referred to the journalists and assured them that he was calm about his form. “If I played badly, I wouldn’t be on the pitch because I’m responsible. I’m fine,” said Barcelona’s number one between the three sticks.

However, according to many media reports, Ter Stegen is no longer an untouchable player and could easily be put on the transfer list. The goalkeeper has a contract until 2025, but it is possible that he will leave Barcelona sooner. His relationship with Xavi has reportedly not been the best recently and the coach could decide to make a change in goal.

Source: Twitter