Barcelona Suffer Fresh Injury Blow Ahead of Supercopa de Espana

Barcelona have suffered a fresh injury blow ahead of their Supercopa de Espana semi-final with Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night.

Veteran goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been ruled out of the game after leaving the squad with a suspected injury.

Ter Stegen Returns to Barcelona Ahead of Supercopa de Espana Semi-Final

Barcelona travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Spanish Supercup on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, the team conducted a training session, involving all players called up for the tournament.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen participated in the session but could not complete it.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the injury does not appear to be serious. However, Barcelona did not want to take any chances with the goalkeeper, who only returned to the pitch in December.

On Tuesday night, the team sent the goalkeeper back to Barcelona to determine the true extent of the injury.

Marc André ter Stegen suffered new injury in training, reports @monfortcarlos.

Injury to be assessed this week as could impact his loan exit in January. pic.twitter.com/3guPxBf5rL

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 6, 2026

The German goalkeeper spent over four months on the sidelines following a back injury. However, this injury does not appear to be related, as it is in a different area.

Ter Stegen had been linked with a January loan, but this setback could complicate matters for the Germany international.

With Joan Garcia serving as Hansi Flick’s first-choice goalkeeper, minutes have been few and far between. Ter Stegen wants to play regularly to secure his place in Germany’s World Cup squad.

Who Will Replace Ter Stegen?

Shortly after Ter Stegen’s departure, Barcelona confirmed that they had called up Barca Atletic goalkeeper Diego Kochen to replace Ter Stegen.

Kochen was set to start in Atletic’s clash with Valencia Mestalla in Group 3 of the Second RFEF on Wednesday.

Garcia, who has been in spectacular form this season, is set to start, with Wojciech Szczesny and Kochen providing cover.

Despite his strong run of form, Garcia could miss Spain’s World Cup squad. But if he keeps up the good work, Luis de la Fuente could reconsider his three picks for La Roja’s No. 1 spot.

Ronald Araujo Will Not Play in Supercopa Semi-Final

After taking a month-long hiatus for mental health reasons, Ronald Araujo has returned to the Barcelona squad for the Supercopa de Espana.

However, Hansi Flick has confirmed that he is not in a position to start for the Catalans.

| Ronald Araújo will travel to Saudi Arabia with the squad for the Spanish Super Cup.

He may not feature, but will be there to support the team.

[@sport] pic.twitter.com/HExmrxXqG1

— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) January 5, 2026

“We’ll see him in training,” said Flick when asked about Araujo.

“I want to talk to him. We haven’t decided yet. If he’s ready, maybe we’ll change something. Right now, he’s not in our plans.

“These things happen. We have to take care of the players. All of them. The players are under pressure, and we’re all human.”

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-2 in the Supercopa de Espana final last season. They could face Madrid once more on Sunday if Los Blancos overcome Atletico Madrid in the second semi-final.