Andreas
Christensen stood himself down from selection for Chelsea's FA Cup final
despite the defender not being injured.
Christensen was not involved in the match squad for Saturday's 6-5 penalty
shoot-out loss to Liverpool.
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 move 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-place 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.
Todd Boehly is primed to complete his £4.25 billion 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.
Antonio Rudiger will join Real Madrid, to add to Christensen's impending
Barcelona switch.
Asked if Chelsea could catch up with Liverpool in one summer's transfer
window, Tuchel replied: "It's maybe impossible, I have to say, maybe
impossible.
"They are improving their squad in every transfer window they have.
"It seems like we are losing key players. We are losing, of course, Toni,
we're losing Andreas. So this is tough and we already have a gap to close."
But asked if incoming Chelsea owner Boehly shares his own ambitions for the
Blues, Tuchel added: "He has big money for the club, so I don't think he is
keen to drop the ambition.
"That would be a big surprise, so no, I don't doubt this.
"We will share our opinion in more detail over the next weeks and I am sure
he is as ambitious to build a competitive Chelsea for the highest level."
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