Christensen withdrew from Chelsea FA Cup squad

Andreas Christensen stood himself down from selection for Chelsea’s FA Cup final.

Christensen was not involved in the match squad for Saturday’s 6-5 penalty shoot-out loss to Liverpool, but the PA news agency understands that the Denmark defender was not injured.

Thiago Silva played through the pain of a knee problem sustained during the punishing Wembley clash, with Malang Sarr and Cesar Azpilicueta the Blues’ defensive options on the bench.

Christensen is understood to be poised to complete a free-transfer switch to Barcelona when the season finishes, bringing to an end a decade at Stamford Bridge.

The 26-year-old has battled a number of minor injury and illness issues in recent weeks, but his withdrawal from Saturday’s crunch clash left the Blues short-handed.

Chelsea host Leicester on Thursday and Watford on Sunday in a bid to close out a third-placed Premier League finish, with Christensen’s availability now uncertain.

The 54-cap centre-back can still have the chance to add a final word to his Chelsea career, but his absence on Saturday proved a surprise given his lack of injury.

Chelsea lost to Liverpool on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes and extra-time in the second domestic cup final of the season.

The Blues were edged out 11-10 in the Carabao Cup final in February and have now been left to taste defeat at the hands of the Reds again.

Todd Boehly is primed to complete his £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea, but while the summer should yield a number of new playing arrivals at Stamford Bridge, manager Thomas Tuchel admitted a sizeable gap still remains on second-placed Liverpool.

Toni Rudiger will join Real Madrid, to add to Christensen’s impending Barcelona switch.