Ajax's Ter Stegen Injured as Klopp Eyes Germany No 1 Role
Ajax Amsterdam have chosen caution over sentiment with Marc-André ter Stegen, as coach Míchel confirmed the veteran goalkeeper is still nursing a serious injury and will sit out Tuesday night’s league match against Willem II Tilburg.
“Marc is recovering from a serious injury,” Míchel said, explaining why the 34-year-old has been left out. With an international window looming, Ajax see a chance to protect one of their most important players rather than push him back into action too soon.
That opens the door for understudy Maarten Paes, who will start in goal. For Míchel, the timing is ideal: “The current moment is favourable” to give Paes minutes, he argued, so ter Stegen “can properly recover for the game on Saturday as well as the subsequent international break.”
The plan is clear. Ajax want him ready for the weekend – and ready for Germany.
Míchel also underlined that the club expect ter Stegen to link up with the national team regardless. “Should ter Stegen travel to the national team – which is likely – we will then have time to continue working on his recovery,” he said. Club and country, for once, appear aligned: manage the workload now, reap the rewards later.
Klopp’s new No 1 taking shape
In Germany, the stakes around ter Stegen’s fitness are rising fast. According to multiple media reports, new national coach Jürgen Klopp is planning with the long-time understudy as his future first-choice goalkeeper.
The “eternal” crown prince to Manuel Neuer has worn that label for years. He briefly stepped out of Neuer’s shadow under Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, when Neuer retired from international duty after Euro 2024 – a retirement that proved only temporary at first, before his definitive decision to step away from the Germany squad.
Just as ter Stegen seemed set to inherit the shirt for good, injuries stalled his momentum. His last outing for Germany came on 8 June 2025, a 2-0 Nations League defeat to France in Stuttgart. Since then, he has watched the national team from the sidelines, waiting for his body – and his chance – to cooperate.
Now the stage is being built for a comeback with a personal twist.
For Klopp’s debut in the Germany dugout, the team travel to Amsterdam on 24 September to face the Netherlands in the Nations League. For ter Stegen, who plays his club football in the city, it would feel like a home game in national colours – a symbolic setting for a goalkeeper trying to finally step out of Neuer’s long shadow and make the No 1 shirt his own.
Germany then face Greece on 27 September, Serbia on 1 October, and Greece again on 4 October in a packed international window that will give Klopp an extended look at his goalkeeping options.
New hierarchy in goal after Neuer’s exit
Klopp will announce his squad on Thursday at 10am, and all signs point to an unusually large group of goalkeepers being called up as he reshapes the position in the post-Neuer era.
With Neuer now definitively retired from the national team and previous No 2 Oliver Baumann not expected to feature, the competition behind ter Stegen is already forming. Alexander Nübel of Besiktas and Jonas Urbig of Bayern Munich are viewed as the primary challengers for the gloves. Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen is also expected to be involved, adding another young contender to the mix.
The message is unmistakable: ter Stegen is Klopp’s man for now, but he will have to hold off a hungry generation lining up behind him.
Ajax, meanwhile, are gambling that a brief rest now will pay off when it matters most – for club points at the weekend and, if all goes to plan, for Germany’s new era in goal starting under the lights in Amsterdam.
