Girona are considering cutting short Ter Stegen's loan deal

GironaMarc-André ter Stegen suffered a serious muscle injury in the league match of Girona on Saturday at Oviedo's ground. Pending further tests and a clearer diagnosis agreed upon by Girona and Barça, initial examinations suggest the German goalkeeper could be out for two months, and may even require further surgery, according to reports. GiantsIf the forecast is confirmed, Girona is exploring ways to cut short the loan until the end of the season, as the player would miss a significant amount of competition and wouldn't return until early spring. This setback jeopardizes Ter Stegen's participation in the upcoming World Cup with the German national team. Without a starting position at Barça after the signing of Joan Garcia, the Mönchengladbach native agreed to a loan to Girona to get playing time before this crucial tournament. Unfortunately, he has only been able to play two official matches under the team managed by Míchel Sánchez. Now, the Montilivi club has time to scour the winter transfer market to sign a new goalkeeper, as Paulo Gazzaniga will be the only viable and proven option between the posts after Dominik Livaković's departure to Dinamo Zagreb.

The red-and-white club also has Ukrainian Vladyslav Krapyvtsov, who has even played some league matches, but he doesn't represent real competition for the Argentinian, who was benched overnight, much to his anger, and whom they will now be forced to replace. The other goalkeepers in contention are Bulgarian Andreev, from the reserve team and who didn't play a single minute, and Juan Carlos, who is seriously injured. According to ARA, Girona and Barça will issue a statement as soon as they have all the information about the injury. The transfer window closes this Monday night, with the exception of signing players without a club, provided the affected club has available roster spots.

Two matches, no wins

In Ter Stegen's case at Girona, it's been a case of arriving and making a splash, but his presence in the starting eleven hasn't been synonymous with victories. He was the starter from day one, displacing Gazzaniga, a regular since 2022. Míchel emphasized that for him it was "a very difficult decision," but said: "Ter Stegen makes us better and we need the best players." The German, avoiding any controversy with his new teammate between the posts, said at his presentation: "I have the utmost respect, but my goal is to play." At the time of the change, Gazzaniga was making a strong case for continuing to play: he was relegated to the bench after three consecutive wins and two clean sheets. With Ter Stegen, however, Girona's positive run has been cut short, and the team has dropped five points in a week: the draw against Getafe and the defeat in Oviedo represent a small step backward.

Gazzaniga knew he'd be back in action in two weeks, because Barça had included a "fear clause" in Ter Stegen's loan for the February 16th visit to Montilivi. What he didn't expect was that his return as Girona's starting goalkeeper would come sooner, and even less so that it would be for a similar reason. The only warning the German had given regarding his condition was in Saudi Arabia, when he flew urgently to Barcelona due to an intravenous thrombosis in his knee, but it turned out to be just a scare. Unfortunately, now it's serious. Decisive hours are coming to find out if Ter Stegen's loan to Girona will be cut short and if the Girona side will decide to go to the transfer market to sign an emergency replacement.