Doctor says ter Stegen reveal will not impact La Liga salary limit call

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is one of three members of the squad that will not be traveling to Japan and South Korea as part of their preseason tour. In his case, due to injury. Ter Stegen announced on Thursday that he would be undergoing surgery, which, in theory, will keep him out for three months.

The Blaugrana are reportedly unhappy with ter Stegen, who announced that he would be out for around three months with the back surgery, to resolve persistent pain that has plagued him since the June international break. Many believed that Barcelona were planning on using the emergency injury rule in case of ter Stegen’s surgery, which would allow them to use 80% of his salary amount to register other players until January, including new signing and ter Stegen’s competition for the number one spot, Joan Garcia.

La Liga will not base decision of Ter Stegen announcement

Speaking to Cadena SER, Dr. Guillermo Ripoll, who is a traumatologist and expert surgeon, explained that the chances of either ter Stegen or Barcelona being able to lean on other doctors for a favourable report were slim.

“I hope that my colleagues, whom I know, if you’ll allow me the discretion of not putting names on the table, won’t take the bait in that regard. They’ll say what they have to say.”

“They know they’re hurting Barça, but it affects Elche, Real Sociedad… Whether Barca can register or not and can make this move affects the national football scene. This is very interesting. Where do a person’s rights to have their medical information kept secret end, and where do the rights of others begin? To what extent can you control information that affects third parties?”

However Ripoll said that La Liga would look at the documents submitted to them, but were unlikely to dispute what they received.

“La Liga will most likely examine the player, examine the documents, and issue a ruling, but they won’t be in a position to be that precise about it.”

Image: La Masia players on the pre-season tour. @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/6TMheustoz

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 25, 2025

Ter Stegen recovery time in reality

Dr. Ripoll went on to say that the three-month recovery time announced by ter Stegen did seem on the short side to him.

“Three months seems very tight to me. You can’t say if it’s going to be three or four, but generally, on paper it would be more like four. A person who has had two knee surgeries, who is now having another back surgery… He’s an extraordinary athlete, but it’s striking that they’re so precise, and when you look for a reason why he’s being precise so much, you find reasons that we all have in mind, and they’re not quite correct.”

Just as Barcelona were unhappy with ter Stegen, the German shot-stopper was reportedly very unhappy with the club. Not only have they signed his replacement and told him that he will be third choice, but stories about his character and professionalism were also leaked to the press, and many see this as his reponse.