Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez confirmed that his German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will miss the Spanish champions’ next match against Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish Football League on Saturday due to back pain.
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“Mark will not be able to participate tomorrow, and we have full confidence in Iñaki Peña, who is 100 percent ready,” Xavi said in a press conference on Friday.
Peña (24 years old) is a product of the club’s academy and has previously played 5 matches for Barcelona’s first team.
The Catalan club suffered losses in its last two matches against Rayo, and is currently four points behind Girona, the leader of the standings and the surprise of the current season.
On the other hand, Dutchman Frankie de Jong returns to the squad after recovering from his injury, but Barça will also miss the efforts of midfielder Gavi for the remainder of the season after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury while participating with the Spain national team last week.
Some Spanish media blamed national team coach Luis de la Fuente, but Xavi said the injury was not his fault.
Xavi explained, “I have no problem with De La Fuente, it is a problem with the calendar and the very large number of matches.”
He added, “At Ghafi’s age, he has played a lot of matches and the program is full of matches, and this is the reason for the injury, in addition to bad luck.”
He continued, “He is an irreplaceable player because of the passion, desire and courage he shows.”
Xavi had previously suggested making changes to the football calendar in the past by preventing players from leaving to play international matches during the season, and he raised the issue again.
He said, “The simple solution is to play for eight or nine months with the club and then get a period to participate in the European qualifiers and the European Championship.”
The former Spain captain continued, “It is not easy to have a lot of travel every month, nine months with the club and two with the national team.”
© 2023 AFP
2023-11-24 16:02:07
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