Andreas Christensen doubtful for Chelsea’s FA Cup match with potential knee problem — report

Andreas Christensen emerged out of the shadows for a brief moment — well, 90 minutes — for his first Premier League appearance in over two months in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa in the last game of 2020, and then promptly retreated back to the shadows.

And it sounds like he might stay there for a bit longer despite an FA Cup match coming up this weekend against lower league opposition, which will see a much different Chelsea lineup than usual, full of kids and backups and fringe players. According to The Athletic’s Simon Johnson, the 24-year-old center back is “doubt” for Sunday’s game — assuming it goes ahead since Morecambe FC are currently still in COVID-protocol.

The reason behind Christensen’s potential absence is apparently this knee scan that he’s said to have had after the Villa match, which was only reported by Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella and did not warrant a mention from Frank Lampard before or after the Manchester City match that followed.

Christensen’s supposed scan — the actual results of which are unknown, though presumably they’re not great if he’s doubtful — was said to be a direct result of the possible injury he sustained during Villa’s equalizer in that match, when he tried to tackle Jack Grealish, got kicked instead by Grealish’s attempted-foul-buying trailing leg in the collision, and stayed down as Villa played on and scored against a disorganized defense that couldn’t quite fill the hole he had left.

Christensen came under a fair amount of criticism for that sequence, both for his poor judgement in stepping up and execution of the tackle, as well as his decision to stay down when he was able to finish out the game after a spot of treatment and some magic spray — including from yours truly, and from Aston Villa coach John Terry, ex-captain, hardman, legend, etc.

Obviously, if Christensen did in fact get injured on that play, perspectives should shift. Then again, playing on with an injury — be that a knee or, as commonly seen, a head — isn’t necessarily something that should be glorified. Perhaps Andreas is aware of the perception of his frailty? But we’re well into the realm of speculation now.

Hopefully we get some clarity on this situation the next time Frank Lampard addresses the media.