Andreas Christensen's season has been severely compromised by injury and things appear to have gotten even worse, with reports circulating that the Barcelona center back underwent surgery in recent days.
According to information from Mundo Deportivo and Catalunya Radio, Christensen traveled to Sweden weeks ago to undergo surgery to solve issues in his achilles tendon. The original injury was located on his left Achilles, but reports indicate that he underwent a surgical procedure in both feet.
The Danish defender has only played in Barcelona's first game in La Liga this season, registering 26 minutes until the tendinopathy on his left Achilles forced him to stop any type of soccer activity.
After initially undergoing a less invasive treatment in efforts to avoid surgery, Christensen went under the knife and will extend a stint on the sidelines that dates back to August.
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When Will Andreas Christensen Return From Injury?
The reported two month recovery timetable would see the former Chelsea player sidelined until late January, but it was also reported that he could return to training on the pitch in 15–20 days.
Regardless of the timetable, Christensen is unable to feature for the Catalans until Jan. 1, given that summer signing Dani Olmo was only able to be registered to play by utilizing Christensen's license that was left vacant due to his injury. Barcelona's financial fair-play crisis made it impossible to register Olmo in any other way.
Christensen now has a chance to return to full fitness while Barcelona figure out how to maneuver its squad to make room for his reintegration. He joins a long list of Barça players in a medical room that's been crowded ever since Hansi Flick arrived in the summer, featuring:
- Marc-André ter Stegen
- Ronald Araújo
- Ansu Fati
- Marc Bernal
- Ferran Torres
- Eric García
- Lamine Yamal
- Robert Lewandowski
However, the last three players on the list seem poised to feature with the club sooner rather than later.
Potential Replacements for Barcelona
Barcelona has managed to handle Christensen's absence without much trouble. Both Araújo and Christensen featured plenty for the club over the past two seasons, but have now been sidelined for the vast majority of the current term.
Flick has relied heavily on the center back partnership of Pau Cubarsí and Íñigo Martínez, with both players in the top five for most minutes played for Barcelona this season. The two Spanish defenders have been great and are a key reason for the Catalans early success; however, it's a thin position and an injury to either of them could significantly hinder the team.
La Masía product, Sergi Domínguez, has been used by Flick to rest his preferred pairing and would likely start in case of another center back injury. García is also close to returning and his presence would add depth to the position, as the former Manchester City player would make for an experienced back up.
Nevertheless, as of right now, Barcelona should be comfortable with Cubarsí and Peña continuing to get the brunt of the minutes in the middle of the back line.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Andreas Christensen Injury: Progress & Potential Return Date for Barcelona Defender.
