FC Barcelona received bad news on Saturday morning. Andreas Christensen, one of the main absentees from Hansi Flick's squad to face Athletic Club at Montjuïc on August 24, underwent medical tests to find out more about his injury and they revealed that the Danish centre-back is suffering from "a tendinopathy in the left Achilles".
As reported by 'Relevo', the footballer did not participate in training on Thursday and Friday, and now the Catalan club has confirmed that the defender's physical problem is more serious than had been anticipated. However, as usual, the club has not specified the length of time the player will be out and has limited itself to pointing out that "the return to training will be determined by his progress", although various sources assure that the defender will be out for between one and two months.
With Christensen out, Lenglet on loan to Atlético de Madrid and Ronald Araújo's long-term injury, whose return is expected at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, Barça 'only' has Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez and Eric García to cover the centre of defence. Jules Koundé could also return to his natural position if necessary, although this scenario is complicated since, at the moment, the Frenchman does not have a guaranteed replacement.
In this way, the possible departure of the footballer from Barcelona is completely ruled out. Although Flick is counting on him, the Catalans were considering his transfer as an emergency option in the face of economic problems since the player has a market and they could get a good 'cut' from his sale. However, his injury removes any probability of him being transferred, which is why the centre-back will fulfil his wish to continue in Barcelona and will face his third season as a Barça player.
The matches that Andreas will miss
Although it is still too early to know exactly how long Andreas will be out of action, the newspaper 'SPORT' maintains that the defender will not play in the league again in August (Athletic Club, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid) and September (Girona, Villarreal, Getafe and Osasuna). In addition, he will miss the debut of the Blaugrana squad in the Champions League, which will take place between September 17 and 19.
Similarly, it is very likely that the footballer will not be ready for the second matchday of the Champions League (October 1-2) and the ninth matchday of the League (against Alavés on the weekend of October 5 and 6), which will be played before the international break of that month. As things stand, everything points to the fact that the '15' will rejoin the first team at the end of the season, being available to Flick for the match against Sevilla in Montjuïc on the weekend of 19 and 20 October.