Hansi Flick has admitted Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a serious injury during Barcelona’s 5-1 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

Late in the first half, Ter Stegen crumpled to the ground in agony after appearing to land awkwardly, and he needed to be stretchered off the field with his head in his hands, immediately sparking fears of a significant injury.

Barcelona have confirmed reports that Ter Stegen has suffered a “complete rupture in the patella tendon in his right knee”. He will soon undergo surgery, at which point a formal recovery timeframe will be revealed.

The initial fear is that Ter Stegen could face close to eight months on the sidelines.

“We are all sad because it’s a huge injury, you can see in his behaviour when he lay on the pitch and when he goes out,” Flick said after the game.

“I’m really sad about this. At this point, we are not happy with the time but it’s football, we have to accept this. At half-time, I said to the team, ‘Come on, we play for Marc, give an extra 10% if possible’ and I think we had a great second half.”

Academy graduate Inaki Pena came on to replace Ter Stegen and now appears set for an extended run in the Barcelona starting lineup. 20-year-old Ander Astralaga, who has not played a single minute of senior football, will be promoted to back-up.

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