Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen is set for a long absence after serious knee injury requires surgery

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is facing a long spell on the sidelines after his club said Monday that he sustained a “complete rupture” of a tendon in his right knee that requires surgery.

Ter Stegen left the field on a stretcher after getting injured in a 5-1 win over Villarreal in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Ter Stegen’s right knee buckled when he fell awkwardly after going for a high cross into the area just before halftime.

Barcelona said that surgery on Ter Stegen's knee was planned Monday after tests confirmed “that he has a complete rupture in the patella tendon in his right knee.”

The injury comes just as Ter Stegen had been confirmed as the German national team’s No. 1 goalkeeper after years as Manuel Neuer’s backup.

Neuer retired from international soccer after Euro 2024 and coach Julian Nagelsmann said Ter Stegen — who has played 42 games for Germany but none at a major tournament — would be first choice in the future. However, he only played two Nations League games before his injury.

“The news of Marc’s injury was a big shock for us," Nagelsmann said Monday. "We in the national team are going to miss him on and off the field. We wish Marc all the best for the operation and a quick recovery. We’ll always be there for him on his way back.”

Germany’s most recent squad included backup goalkeepers Alexander Nübel from Stuttgart and Oliver Baumann from Hoffenheim. Neither has played a game for Germany.

The 32-year-old Ter Stegen is one of Barcelona's captains and had started all seven of the team's games this season. His appearance against Villarreal was his 289th with the club, and took him past legendary Antoni Ramallets into third place on the club's all-time list of appearances for goalkeepers.

Ter Stegen's immediate backup at Barcelona is Iñaki Peña. The club is expected to add another goalkeeper to its squad.

Barcelona is off to a perfect start in the Spanish league by winning all six games so far. Coach Hansi Flick is already without several regular starters because of injury, including Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo.

“We have to accept it," Flick said of Ter Stegen's injury. "It’s not easy. It was an accident.”

Barcelona's next match is against Getafe in the Spanish league on Wednesday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona's goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is removed from the pitch on a stretcher after picking up an injury during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Villarreal at the La Cerámica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen is set for a long absence after serious knee injury requires surgery

Barcelona's goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is removed from the pitch on a stretcher after picking up an injury during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Villarreal at the La Cerámica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen is set for a long absence after serious knee injury requires surgery

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% below its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rallied 7.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% and is on track to set an all-time high.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.1% to $95.48 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell even more, 4.2%, to $89.69 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.

Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.

Bath & Body Works rallied 11.2%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 11.8% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.

Lululemon Athletica rose 3.6% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.9% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.

Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.4%, and Chevron slipped 0.8%. Halliburton dropped 3% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.

It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.

A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)