BARCELONA
Christensen back in Barcelona’s casualty room
The Dane was ruled out of the Atlético game after experiencing excruciating pain to his foot during the warm-up, forcing Xavi to reshuffle his midfield.
Andreas Christensen has only spent four days on the sidelines and hasn’t suffered any injuries this season but he has been playing with some discomfort for some time now. Up until yesterday, the Danish defender had missed just one game - he sat out the 2-4 win away at Betis in Week 21 with abdominal pain. But yesterday, during the warm-up before Barça’s game against Atletico, his Achilles tendon flared up again.
He immediately went over to the doctor, Xavi Valle, to tell him that he was having problems but after a few more minutes, he trudged back to the locker room, visibly upset. The pain was getting worse, it was impossible for him to play and not worth the risk.
Xavi forced to improvise
Losing Christensen at late notice forced Xavi to reshuffle his midfield. Gündogan, who was designated to play in a deep-lying position, where he is at his most dangerous, dropped back into a more defensive role while Fermín López pushed up to play out wide on the right with Sergi Roberto on the opposite flank. In recent weeks, Christensen has moved into midfield where Xavi has found him a new position for him. He has been playing in a holding role sine the 1-3 win at Alavés.
Barcelona’s medical services recognize that Christensen’s Achilles problem is not an injury in itself, but rather a condition - bouts of tendinitis that has been going on since the beginning of the season which he has been holding up as best as he can. It is evident that the load of matches in recent weeks has just made the condition worse, leading to unbearable pain, which has forced him to bow out at the last minute.
Doctors believe that the ideal scenario would be for the player to rest and undergo treatment, taking advantage of this month’s international break. Barcelona’s next game is on 30 March when he host Las Palmas in Montjuïc. The next fifteen days between now and then are vital so that Christensen can reach the final stretch of the season in optimum condition. Which is why the club is considering contacting officials at the Danish Federation to request that Christensen be excluded from the squad list. We will soon find out whether Andreas finally has to travel or not.
Denmark’s next commitments are two friendly matches: against Switzerland on 23 March and the Faroe Islands, three days later on the 26th. Hardly matches of vital importance which invites us to think that there will not be many objections within the Danish Football Federation to excuse Christensen this time.
Another Barcelona player is in the same situation. Oriol Romeu has also been suffering some discomfort since the beginning of the season. He has complained of ongoing pains to his right knee - believed to be a cartilage issue. The midfielder has completed just two full games this season in 16 starts. He has been receiving treatment, which has eased the problem, allowing him to play but the club is keen to ensure that he, along with the rest of the first team squad, is in top shape for the run-in to the end of the campaign.