Barcelona boss Hansi Flick confirmed Marc-Andre ter Stegen will make his first start since recovering from knee surgery in Saturday’s clash against Real Valladolid.
The German has not featured since September but has been passed fit and will take over from Wojciech Szczęsny between the sticks.
“Yes, Marc will be back tomorrow. We can finish the press conference now,” he said with a laugh when asked about the goalkeeper at his presser.
“I think it’s good for goalkeepers to have a few minutes to recover. Marc is on a good path and his performances in training are fantastic. I’m not thinking about changing anything until the end of the season, but I could. That’s how things are. For now, Marc plays tomorrow .”
Flick also offered an update on injured stars Alejandro Balde and Robert Lewandowski who are hoping to return soon.
“We have to wait and see how things progress day by day. They’re on the right track, but we a have to wait and see,” he added.
“He [Lewandowski] might be back for the second leg. Robert is doing very well and his progress is much better than we expected. We’ll have to see. He’s a great professional and always works hard to be 100%. He might be back on Tuesday.”
The Barcelona boss has been tipped to rotate his side against Valladolid, who have already been relegated, and Flick said he will make changes.
“It was proven against Inter that players like Koundé can get injured,” he explained.
“We now have to listen to the medical team to determine which player needs rest. The weeks are coming, and we’ll obviously have to rotate.”