FC Barcelona announced the signing of Polish shot-stopper Wojciech Szczęsny yesterday. The ex-Juventus goalkeeper came out of retirement to play for the Catalan club in the aftermath of the injury to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
The 34-year-old last played for Poland in the Euros, after which he announced his retirement from football. Since signing for Barcelona, Szczęsny has admitted that this was his final opportunity to compete at the highest level, and he wanted to seize it.
Now that he has signed for the club, the Polish shot-stopper will know that he needs to work his way back to match fitness after a few months of inactivity. As per Mundo Deportivo, Wojciech Szczęsny has already begun training at the Ciutat Esportiva even though the first team was given an off by Hansi Flick.
The team will return to training on Friday which will give the 34-year-old a chance to train with the other squad members. He has already met his teammates after being in attendance to watch his new team dismantle Young Boys 5-0 in the Champions League.
Szczesny is unlikely to be available before the international break and his return to professional football is likely to take place against Sevilla on October 20 when the team returns from the international break. It gives the Polish veteran a chance to work his way back to full fitness.
The report adds that the Pole is coming to Barcelona with the desire to prove his fitness and convince Hansi Flick that he needs to be number one this season. That said, it is highly likely that the German coach reaches some sort of middle ground on how to use his two keepers – Szczesny and Inaki Pena.
Right now, the priority is for the ex-Juventus shot-stopper to work his way back to full fitness and make himself available to the new coach. The last thing the club would want is for the Pole to be rushed back and suffer an injury and let’s wait and see when Szczesny makes his debut in a Barcelona shirt.