Marc-André ter Stegen has been included in Barcelona’s squad for the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid after recovering from a knee injury ahead of schedule.
Ter Stegen, 32, ruptured the patella tendon in his right knee in a LaLiga game in September and was expected to miss the remainder of the season.
However, the Germany goalkeeper returned to training in March and has now been given the all clear to return to competitive football.
Ter Stegen’s early comeback will re-open the goalkeeping debate at Barça going into the final stretch of the season.
Barça signed Wojciech Szczesny when Ter Stegen got injured and the former Arsenal and Juventus stopper has been No.1 since replacing academy graduate Iñaki Peña at the beginning of the year.
Ter Stegen is unlikely to displace Szczesny in Saturday’s Clásico showdown in Seville, but he will be pushing for the gloves as Barça fight to win three more trophies this season.
They have already won the Spanish Supercopa, have the Copa final on Saturday, are four points clear of Madrid at the top of LaLiga and face Inter Milan in the semifinal of the Champions League.
While Ter Stegen and Szczesny can both be included in the match day squad for league and cup games, the same is not true in the Champions League.
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Szczesny was registered in Ter Stegen’s place and a source confirmed UEFA’s regulations state he would have to be unregistered for Ter Stegen to be re-registered in European competitions.
Ter Stegen joined Barça from Borussia Mönchengladbach for €12 million ($14m) in 2014 and has been their outright No.1 since 2016, making over 400 appearances for the club and winning five LaLiga titles, five Copas del Rey and one Champions League.
Former Poland international Szczesny came out of retirement to join Barça on a deal until the end of the season, although sporting director Deco has said they are in talks to extend his stay.
