Barcelona Coach Flick Backs Pena As Stegen’s Replacement

Barcelona will be without injured goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen for months but coach Hansi Flick is confident that Inaki Pena can replace the German goalkeeper.

Stegen underwent a successful operation on Monday after suffering a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee.

The 32-year-old was injured in Barca’s 5-1 La Liga win at Villarreal on Sunday and is expected to be out for at least eight months, Spanish media reported.

He said: “Inaki is doing very well, in pre-season too. He has worked very hard to be here. He is focused and ready to play,” Flick told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s home game with Getafe.

“We are confident but we also have to look at what we do because the players at the back are very young. For the moment, we don’t feel under pressure and we trust in Inaki.”

Pena joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy aged 13, the 25-year-old Pena has made 23 first-team appearances, conceding 39 goals and keeping five clean sheets.

“We will see what happens. We will talk to (Spain manager) Luis de la Fuente, who has coached world-class goalkeepers for many years. He will be the first person I will talk to,” Flick added.

Barcelona are already without new signing Dani Olmo and fellow midfielders Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez plus defenders Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.

Flick has led Blaugrana to six straight wins putting them top of the Laliga table, four points ahead of champions Real Madrid in second.