Barcelona’s trip south to Seville brought three points, but it also left Hansi Flick without Andreas Christensen for the coming weeks after the Danish defender suffered a muscle injury.
Tests carried out on Sunday confirmed that Christensen has damaged the rectus femoris muscle in his left quadriceps. Barcelona said his availability will depend on how the injury develops, without setting a precise return date.
The 30-year-old asked to be substituted during the match against Sevilla at the Sánchez Pizjuán and was visibly distressed afterwards, with Christensen seen crying on the bench. Flick had already indicated after the victory that the defender was likely to be out for several weeks, pending medical confirmation.
A familiar interruption for the Danish defender
The latest setback is less severe than the two long absences that have disrupted Christensen’s recent time in Catalonia, but it again interrupts a season in which he had become an important option for Flick.
Last season, Christensen spent almost six months sidelined by a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. In the preceding campaign, a tendinopathy affecting his left Achilles tendon kept him out for around five months.
Those injuries have repeatedly denied the former Denmark international the continuity he has sought at Barcelona. His early-season performances had offered signs of a more settled role before the problem in Seville.
Denmark call-up abandoned
Christensen had been selected for Denmark during the international break, but will remain in Barcelona to begin rehabilitation. The immediate aim is to restore him to the level he had shown at the start of the campaign, while the club monitors his response over the next few weeks.
