Barcelona will have to de-register key star from Champions League to play Ter Stegen

With each passing day, Marc-Andre ter Stegen seems to be moving closer to his return to the pitch after enduring a long injury layoff.

Recent reports suggest the German international has already made giant strides in his road to recovery and could return to action by the end of April.

Barcelona’s goalkeeper dilemma

The expected return of ter Stegen poses some question marks for Barcelona. Will the goalkeeper immediately return to the starting fold, or will he move behind top-performing Wojciech Szczesny in the pecking order?

While there is no way of knowing how Barcelona would approach the situation, Mundo Deportivo does highlight that ter Stegen is not a part of Barça’s Champions League squad anymore.

This is because Szczesny has been registered in place of the German, which means if Barça are to register ter Stegen back into the UCL squad, they will have to de-register the 34-year-old in-form goalkeeper.

Safe to say, this is not something Barcelona would consider given the fact that the Pole has emerged as one of the top-performing goalkeepers in Europe since the turn of the year.

Barcelona’s upcoming game in the UCL is against Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

The Germans might not be the toughest of opponents, but they do have dynamic attackers and have been excellent at set-pieces lately.

With imposing players like Serhou Guirassy, Nico Schlotterbeck, and Emre Can always ready to attack the opposition box, Barcelona would require the services of a goalkeeper who is physically fit and can remain competent in the area.

Meanwhile, ter Stegen will be eligible to continue playing in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, though it remains to be seen whether or not Hansi Flick will be keen on replacing Szczesny in these competitions either.