FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - AS Monaco v FC Barcelona - Stade Louis II, Monaco - September 19, 2024 FC Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
(Reuters) -Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has had a successful operation after suffering a rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee, the LaLiga club said on Monday.
The 32-year-old Germany international was injured in Barca's 5-1 LaLiga win at Villarreal on Sunday and is expected to be out for at least eight months, Spanish media reported.
"Ter Stegen has undergone a successful surgical intervention on the patella tendon injury in his right knee by Dr Joan Carles Monllau under the supervision of the Club's Medical Services at Barcelona Hospital," Barcelona said in a statement.
Ter Stegen fell badly after jumping for a ball just before halftime and was visibly in pain as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher. His weight fell on the right knee on which he had two operations in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Substitute keeper Inaki Pena will fill in for Ter Stegen as Hansi Flick's side face Bayern Munich in the Champions League next month and defending champions Real Madrid in LaLiga.
The 25-year-old Pena, who joined Barca's La Masia academy a decade ago, made 17 first-team appearances last season after Ter Stegen sustained another knee injury.
After a promising start deputising last term, with key saves in Barca's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid and 2-1 victory against Porto, Pena conceded 31 goals in the following 15 matches, keeping only two clean sheets over that period.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru and Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)
