Madrid, Dec 7 (IANS): FC Barcelona goalkeeper, Ter Stegen is likely to be out of action for several weeks after the club confirmed that he will undergo a "surgical procedure" to help resolve a troublesome back injury.

The German international returned early from international duty at the start of the month, and although it was first though he was only suffering from a minor issue, he has not been able to play in any of Barcelona's three matches since the international break, reports Xinhua .

Barcelona have not confirmed how long Ter Stegen will be out of action, but he is unlikely to reappear before the New Year and will struggle to be fit to compete in the Spanish Supercup.

Ter Stegen's understudy, Inaki Pena will continue in goal until he recovers, with the 24-year-old so far impressing in the last three games and performing exceptionally well against Atletico Madrid last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Barcelona-based sports paper El Mundo Deportivo informed on Wednesday that Barcelona defender, Ronald Araujo suffered a broken jaw in the Atletico game, following a collision with Atletico midfielder, Marcos Llorente.

Araujo suffered the injury in the first half of the 1-0 win for Barca, but played the entire 90 minutes. The paper informs that the Uruguayan has opted against having an operation and will play Barca's next games wearing a protective facemask.