Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen will not be heading on international duty with Denmark during the break over the next two weeks, instead recovering in Catalonia. The 27-year-old was a late injury absence from Barcelona’s win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.
The Danish defender has been used in midfield of late, helping Barcelona to solidify things at the back, and contributing to a run of 400 minutes without conceding domestically. Yet he felt discomfort in his Achilles tendon during the warm-up at the Metropolitano, and Xavi Hernandez decided not to risk it.
Christensen does not have a specific injury, as per Sport, but rather tendonitis which has been affecting him since the start of the season, and placing his fitness in doubt. With Denmark playing friendlies against Switzerland and then the Faroe Islands, manager Kasper Hjulmand has decided against calling on Christensen, instead leaving him to recover in Barcelona from a ‘light injury’. Brondby’s Jacob Rasmussen has been called up in his place.
🚨 JUST IN: Andreas Christensen will not go with the national team of Denmark this international break due to a minor injury. @dbulandshold
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 18, 2024
“He doesn’t have an injury per se. It also happened to me as a player. He has tendonitis in his Achilles, the pain goes on for days, and in the warm-up he told us that he couldn’t today,” Xavi told the press after the match.
It looks as if Christensen should be back for Barcelona’s next clash with Las Palmas in two weeks time at Montjuic, but his fitness will be a concern going into the Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain in mid-April. While Barcelona should also have Frenkie de Jong back by that point, none of their other midfielders are well-suited to being the deepest midfielder, with the exception of Oriol Romeu, who has not been trusted by Xavi of late.
