Ter Stegen out for two-and-a-half months as Barcelona goalkeeper undergoes successful knee surgery

Barcelona have confirmed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has undergone surgery on a knee problem.

The 28-year-old, who has made more than 200 appearances for the club since joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014, went under the knife as a preventative measure after he complained of irritation on his right patellar tendon earlier this season.

Ter Stegen played through the discomfort in order to finish the extended 2019-20 season, but will use the short break before the new campaign to clear up the issue once and for all.

“Based upon the exchange with the medical team, the first-team player Marc ter Stegen will do a voluntary medical intervention tomorrow [Tuesday] on his right patellar tendon conducted by the expert Dr. Ramon Cugat,” read a statement on the club’s website.

“It is a proactive measure which is now done in order to prevent and prepare for the future, since the player had some irritations on the tendon earlier in the season."

Ter Stegen also confirmed news of his operation on Twitter, saying: “I will undergo an intervention for my knee tendon. The medical experts and I discussed to do this ‘clean-up’ as there were some irritations earlier this season. It’s a proactive intervention in order to prevent and prepare for the future.

“I will need some weeks to recover and to return to 100%. I’m calm and positive about the situation, I will come back soon. Once again, thanks for all the support I’ve been receiving. I appreciate it a lot!”

On Tuesday, Barca confirmed the surgery was a success, releasing a statement which reads: "First team player Marc ter Stegen has had a successful operation on the right knee of the knee by Dr. Ramon Cugat. The approximate time off will be two and a half months."

The German goalkeeper made 46 appearances for Barca last season, though the campaign ended on a disastrous note with their 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals last week.

It means the Blaugrana ended the season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years, with head coach Quique Setien dismissed earlier on Monday.

Former Barcelona midfielder Ronald Koeman has been heavily linked with the job, with the Dutchman expected to quit his role as Netherlands head coach in the coming days in order to take over at the Camp Nou.