The bigger of the two signings made by FC Barcelona this summer was a new goalkeeper, Joan García, coming from rival team Espanyol. Last season, the club had to make up for the long term absence of their veteran captain Marc André Ter-Stegen. When he returned, the 33-year-old German saw that the club was "politely" pushing him out of the club: he is one of the best paid athletes of the squad and they don't trust that he will perform at his best after the injury. Or simply they want a new, younger goalkeeper more in line with the young age of the squad. In any case, they wanted to sell him, but the player did not want to leave.
In that tense air, Ter Stegen announced that he would undergo surgery to treat his lumbar problems, that have caused him persistent back pain. He already went into surgery in December 2023 for the same reason, and was out for two months. In a post on Twitter, he said (without waiting for the club) that he expected his recovery time would be three months.
<social>https://x.com/mterstegen1/status/1948401001175605452</social>
That means that, with the back problems, Barcelona will not be able to sell him. But a three-month absence is not considered by LaLiga as a continued absence, which means that the club would not be allowed to use 80 percent of the injured player's salary to fill the position of Joan García. And for Barça, always at the edge of the financial fair play, that could hinder the registration of Joan García, as it did months ago with player Dani Olmo (who was only legally registered for the first half of the season using part of the salary of the injured Andreas Christensen).
That is why the official statement released today by FC Barcelona did not specify the recovery time, only saying that "he is unavailable for selection, and his recovery will determine when he can return", hoping that it takes him over three months to recover. Now, it's up to LaLiga's medical report to determine how long it will be, three or four months. The legal registration of Joan García could depend on it. All while the club sneakily retired Ter Stegen's captaincy title: if he ever plays again with Barça, which is unlikely, he would not be captain.