JUST IN: He is Focused And Ready To Play - Coach Flick

Published

Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 05:22 PM

Written by Madaki Blessing Sharon

JUST IN: He is Focused And Ready To Play - Coach Flick

Coach Hansi Flick has announced on Tuesday that Inaki Pena is a capable replacement in view of Barcelona being without injured goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen for at least eight months.


According to Niger Delta Connect, Germany international Ter Stegen underwent a successful operation on Monday after suffering a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee.


The 32-year-old sportsman got injured in Barca's 5-1 LaLiga win at Villarreal on Sunday, and is expected to be out for at least eight months.


However, Barcelona Head Coach Flick in an interview while preparing ahead of Wednesday's home game with Getafe, said: "Inaki is doing very well, in pre-season too. He has worked very hard to be here. He is focused and ready to play."


Coach Flick also made boast in his team's youthfulness and poise under pressure.


"We are confident but we also have to look at what we do because the players at the back are very young. For the moment, we don't feel under pressure and we trust in Inaki."


The 25-year-old Pena who having joined Barcelona's La Masia academy aged 13, has made 23 first-team appearances, conceding 39 goals and keeping five clean sheets.


"We will see what happens. We will talk to (Spain manager) Luis de la Fuente, who has coached world-class goalkeepers for many years. He will be the first person I will talk to," Flick said.


According to reports, the Catalans are already without new signing Dani Olmo and fellow midfielders Gavi, Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong, and Fermin Lopez including defenders Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo.


Barca has also made a perfect and noteworthy start to the season in LaLiga under coach Flick, with six straight wins placing them at the top of the table, four points ahead of champions Real Madrid coming in as second, but the former Bayern Munich boss is reportedly striving for more.


"We analysed the game against Villarreal and we saw a lot of things that can be improved. We haven't reached the end of the road. You can always do more. We are moving forward step by step," Flick remarked.


Niger Delta Connect earlier reported that the likes of Coach Nagelsmann of Germany, and Ancelotti of Real Madrid have all sent out their supports to the injured sportsman Ter Stergen.



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Edited By: Our Correspondent

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