Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen is expected to miss a month with an injury to his left Achilles.
The defender was a surprise absentee from Barcelona’s squad to face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, with the club later confirming that he “has a tendinopathy in the left Achilles. The time of his return to training will depend on his progress.”
Christensen, 28, came off the bench in Barcelona’s opening La Liga game against Valencia last weekend. He again reprised his role as a defensive midfielder during the 2-1 away win, something he did several times last season.
Christensen played 42 times for Barcelona last season, having joined from Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2022. He started all four of Denmark’s games at the European Championship in Germany as his side reached the last 16.
His injury means he will miss Denmark’s September matches, the Nations League games against Switzerland and Serbia.
New signing Dani Olmo, meanwhile, was named in the squad for the Athletic game despite the fact he has not yet been registered with La Liga.
Olmo joined Barcelona for €60m from RB Leipzig earlier this summer but the Spanish side have not yet managed to adhere to La Liga’s salary cap in order to register the 26-year-old.
Head coach Hansi Flick said yesterday he “hoped” Olmo would be registered in time to face Athletic, having missed out last week against Valencia. Barcelona have released their squad for today’s fixture but with an asterisk next to Olmo’s name, signifying “pending his registration in La Liga”.
GO DEEPER
Dani Olmo in limbo at Barcelona: Why €60m summer signing still cannot play
(Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
