So far, Ter Stegen hasn't participated in any of Barça's training sessions during this preseason. The captain, in a tense situation with the club, has almost always been the first to leave Ciutat Esportiva these past few days. Not a single training session on the field and always spending time in the gym. The standoff is real: he hasn't liked at all the way he's being treated and, now, he has started a new standoff with President Laporta.
Controversy with Ter Stegen's injury
In a surprising message on his social media, Barcelona's captain publicly announced that he will undergo surgery. He continues to have back pain and will have surgery, completely ruling out the possibility of a departure. Despite this, what has angered people at Camp Nou is a key aspect of his statement, in which he revealed his supposed recovery time: 3 months (3 meses).
"The doctors believe that about three months (3 meses) will be necessary as a precaution, to avoid taking risks," Ter Stegen pointed out. This is one month less than the minimum set by LaLiga to be able to use 80% of his salary for registering other footballers. The German has calculated it perfectly, trying to send a message that could be negative for the organization presided over by Tebas and that is completely wrong.
Barça talks about 4 or 5 months
While the German has been firm in talking about a shorter recovery time than expected, at Barça, which hasn't yet released a statement, they are less optimistic. Journalist Adrià Albets, always well informed, stated on "Cadena SER" that from the Catalan side they estimate a recovery time "of about 4 or 5 months (4 o 5 meses)".
This would allow his salary to be used to register other teammates like Joan García or Marcus Rashford, which could be key for the course of the season.
In any case, the anger at Barça with Ter Stegen is real. He didn't inform that he was going to release a statement about his surgery and both sides aren't on the same page. This is just another symptom of the poor relationship that currently exists between club and captain, who is very upset by the rumors of his possible departure.
So far, FC Barcelona hasn't issued any statement about it. Despite everything, Ter Stegen's words aren't expected to have any importance in LaLiga's final decision. The competition's own doctors will analyze his surgery and determine a recovery time that could be very important.