Wojciech Szczesny has described the goalkeeping situation at Barcelona as “delicate” after Andre ter Stegen returned to first-team training.
Barca No 1 Ter Stegen underwent surgery after suffering a serious knee injury in September, which led to academy graduate Inaki Pena taking his place before 34-year-old Szczesny became head coach Hansi Flick’s first choice in January.
It was expected Ter Stegen could be out for the season, but the German is back in training and said last week he is “hungry to play soon”.
Szczesny was added to Barcelona’s Champions League squad in October as an injury replacement for Ter Stegen. The German could be re-added when fit, but only if Barca de-register Szczesny in their squad.
Speaking before the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Borussia Dortmund, Szczesny was asked about Ter Stegen’s potential return and what it may mean for his position at Barca.
“Wow, you didn’t even do the warm-up with the question and went straight at it!”
“I came here to replace Ter Stegen, so if Ter Stegen is back and the manager decides he has to play, I will accept it. Having said that, I want to play in the competition.
“Whatever happens is Hansi’s decision, I’m sure Marc and myself will understand that. Marc (Ter Stegen) has not told me anything, and there is no need to. At the minute there is no competition because Marc is not ready to play yet. Whenever he is ready, it will be a coach’s decision. Not ours. We have a very good understanding of the situation and there is no tension between us. Our situation is a delicate one, but what we want is the best outcome for the team.”
Szczesny has come in for criticism for errors made in some performances this season, but has played in 22 matches since January 4 and not been on the losing side as Barca remain in contention for a treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles, in addition to the Supercopa Espana they won in January.
They face Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday taking a 4-0 advantage from the first leg.
(Top photo: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
