Barcelona's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen prepares to kick the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Barcelona in Hamburg, northern Germany on Nov 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

MADRID - FC Barcelona faces a potentially serious concern as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is returning early to Barcelona from the German national team squad due to a back problem.

"He is going to miss our games (against Türkiye and Austria), because he has a lot of pain in his back. He will return to Barcelona tomorrow (Saturday)," confirmed Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

"I hope he will soon be available to play for his team," he added.

A serious injury to Ter Stegen would be a significant setback for Barcelona. He has featured in all 13 of their La Liga matches and in their four Champions League games this season

A serious injury to Ter Stegen would be a significant setback for Barcelona. He has featured in all 13 of their La Liga matches and in their four Champions League games this season. His substitute, Inaki Pena, has limited first-team experience, having made only two substitute appearances in La Liga last season and one start in Europe.

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Barca will be anxious to conduct tests on Ter Stegen and will be hoping he is fit for next Saturday's challenging visit to play Rayo Vallecano.

The ongoing international break has resulted in injuries for La Liga, with Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Jr also being injured.

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Mallorca forward Vedat Muriqi suffered a muscle injury playing for Kosovo against Israel, and Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal injured his hamstring in Spain's 3-1 victory over Cyprus. Both are expected to be sidelined for at least a month.