Barcelona handed injury boost as key player set to be fit for Sevilla clash - Reports
Barcelona have received a major boost before their clash against Sevilla as newly signed goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is reportedly 100% fit to start the match. Barcelona will face Los Nervionenses on Sunday (October 20) at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
Wojciech Szczesny, 34, was signed as an emergency replacement for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen earlier this month. The German goalkeeper was stretchered off after suffering a serious knee injury during the club's 5-1 win over Villarreal on Sunday (September 22).
Szczesny enjoyed a successful club career that saw him play for Brentford, Arsenal, AS Roma, and Juventus before he hung his boots in August 2024. In all, he played 542 club games and kept 208 clean sheets.
Although the Polish shot-stopper had retired, he made an exception and signed a one-year contract with the Catalan giants. However, it was reported that he lacked match fitness and was working very hard to achieve the physical shape required to play for the Catalan giants.
According to a recent report by Marta Ramon of RAC1 (via Barca Universal), Szczesny is now 100% fit to play against Sevilla on Sunday. Hansi Flick will have to choose between Szczesny and Barcelona's second-choice goalkeeper, Inaki Pena.
In Ter Stegen's absence, Inaki Pena has played four games, conceding four goals and keeping three clean sheets. All four goals came in one match against Osasuna on September 28.
It remains to be seen whether Flick sticks with Pena or starts Wojciech Szczesny in his first game as a Barcelona player.
"It's nobody's business" - Wojciech Szczesny talks about his smoking habit following Barcelona move
Wojciech Szczesny defended his smoking habit after being criticized by the Spanish press following his move to Barcelona. Many tabloids blamed his fitness concerns on his habit of smoking and accused the Pole of setting a bad example for youngsters.
In a recent interview with Mundo Deportivo, Szczesny slammed the critics, saying:
“There are things that I don’t change in my personal life and it’s nobody’s business if I smoke. I believe that it doesn’t affect what I do on the pitch, I work twice as hard. I don’t do it in front of kids because I don’t want to have a bad influence on them. Sometimes, somebody will take a photo from the trees where I have a cigarette, that’s on them, not me."
He added:
“If somebody thinks that I will change the way I am in my personal life they can think again because I am who I am. I’ve been this way my whole life.”