Tuchel reveals pattern of Christensen crying off
THOMAS TUCHEL has confirmed that Saturday’s FA Cup final was not the first time Andreas Christensen has withdrawn from the Chelsea squad at short notice, with the manager suggesting the defender might have played his last game for the club. The Dane, 26, who will join Barcelona this summer, took himself out of contention for the defeat by Liverpool hours before kick-off. Speaking ahead of tonight’s game with Leicester, Tuchel refused to reveal the defender’s exact reasons, saying: ‘Andreas came in the morning of the match to speak to me. He told me he was not ready to start the match or be on the bench. He had his reasons. They stay private and confidential. ‘It was not the first time as you can see over the last weeks that we had some of the same situations.’ Christensen has started one of Chelsea’s past six games and sources close to him indicated that he felt unwell in the days prior to the FA Cup final. He pulled out of the starting XI shortly before last month’s 1-0 win over West Ham after suffering stomach cramps. And four days earlier, against Arsenal, he asked to be taken off at half-time. Former boss Maurizio Sarri said he suffers from nerves and stomach aches on matchdays. Tuchel added yesterday: ‘I don’t think it’s that he does not want to play, he was not able to play. It’s a big difference. We had more than this conversation. ‘We had to accept it and we will accept it... I still believe Andreas wanted to play these kinds of matches.’ Tuchel hinted Christensen may not play tonight nor against Watford on Sunday. The German said: ‘It was very short notice before the Cup final — not only before this match, other matches, no chance I have a prediction.’