The issue is the same as it was reported for gpg 2.1.21 HERE, which was fixed in 2.1.22.
I upgraded archlinux gnupg package to 2.2.4 and the issue seems to be back again.
> gpg --version gpg (GnuPG) 2.2.4 libgcrypt 1.8.2
Note that gpg --card-status fails to create secret key stubs when no real secret key is present on a computer.
This is the case for example when you connect the smart card to a new computer and fetch your public key:
> gpg --homedir /tmp/.gnupg --card-edit
gpg/card> fetch
gpg: requesting key from '...someurl'
gpg: /tmp/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key A3AA60EA350A63A4: public key "userid" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg: imported: 1
gpg/card> quit
> gpg --homedir /tmp/.gnupg --card-status --debug-all
gpg: DBG: chan_5 -> SCD GETATTR KEY-ATTR
gpg: DBG: chan_5 <- S KEY-ATTR 1 1 rsa2048 32 1
gpg: DBG: chan_5 <- S KEY-ATTR 2 1 rsa2048 32 1
gpg: DBG: chan_5 <- S KEY-ATTR 3 1 rsa2048 32 1
gpg: DBG: chan_5 <- OK
gpg: DBG: [not enabled in the source] keydb_new
gpg: DBG: [not enabled in the source] keydb_search enter
gpg: DBG: keydb_search: 1 search descriptions:
gpg: DBG: keydb_search 0: AAA20: 'A176 8EAE 3A4C ACF2 2566 6A3B 2CD9 4A7A 642A EAE2'
gpg: DBG: keydb_search: searching keybox (resource 0 of 1)
gpg: DBG: keydb_search: searched keybox (resource 0 of 1) => EOF
gpg: DBG: [not enabled in the source] keydb_search leave (not found)
gpg: DBG: [not enabled in the source] stop
Signature key ....: signaturekeyid
created ....: date
Encryption key....: encryptionkeyid
created ....: date
Authentication key: authenticationkeyid
created ....: date
General key info..: [none]As you can see above gpg --card-status fails to find the key and does not create stubs.
I use OpenPGP smartcard Version 2.1