Barcelona delay decision on Christensen replacement despite long-term injury | OneFootball

Bad luck struck Andreas Christensen hard once again in December. The defender suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training session and will be sidelined for around four months.

Under La Liga regulations, Barcelona are allowed to sign and register a replacement player if the injured footballer is expected to be out for four months or more.

This forecast must be supported by a medical report approved by the competition’s Medical Commission.

Barcelona have up to 20 days to request the registration of a replacement once the Medical Commission issues a favourable report, and they can use up to 80% of the injured player’s salary.

No hurry to decide

According to the programme Que t’hi jugues on Cadena SER, Barcelona’s sporting department will only submit the report to certify Christensen’s injury to the Medical Commission if they decide to enter the transfer market.

The deadline to do so is 9 January, with the winter window open. The club, led by Hansi Flick, have been assessing the options available in the January transfer market for several days before making a decision.

Assessing all options before a decision is made. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Until concrete names and feasible operations emerge, Barcelona will not take the step of submitting the aforementioned report and requesting the use of 80% of the centre-back’s salary.

The club are fully familiar with how the regulation works, with the case of Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Joan Garcia last summer serving as the most recent example.

Delicate situation

The centre-back position at Barcelona is currently in a delicate situation. Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin have established themselves as the current first-choice pairing, with Eric Garcia forced to operate in midfield, where he has been delivering strong performances.

Ronald Araujo, meanwhile, had been sidelined until now due to a mental health break and returned to training with the rest of the first-team squad today.

Barcelona still have room to assess the options in the market at this stage of the season, but they have already decided that they will only make use of Christensen’s salary allocation if a suitable player becomes available.