ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN pulled out of Chelsea’s FA Cup final squad just hours before kick off – leaving team-mates stunned.
The defender told boss Thomas Tuchel that he was not ready to play.
Christensen had played the whole 90 minutes of the previous match at Leeds.
Surprised Tuchel was forced into an emergency reshuffle of his Wembley plans and started rookie Trevoh Chalobah in the Denmark centre back’s absence.
Chelsea went on to lose the final 6-5 on penalties to Liverpool after extra time.
An hour after the final whistle Tuchel confirmed that Christensen is leaving Chelsea when the season finishes next Sunday.
Head coach Tuchel said: “We are losing Toni, we are losing Andreas, so this is tough.”
Spanish giants Barcelona have agreed a deal to take Christensen on a free transfer this summer.
A source close to Christensen claimed the player had felt unwell in the days leading up to the biggest domestic match of the season.
Fellow Chelsea stars were left bewildered when Christensen left the team hotel.
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It now looks like the former youth team star has played his last game for Chelsea.
They are at home to Leicester on Thursday and then Watford on Sunday and Christensen is unlikely to feature at all.
Chelsea still need three points to guarantee third place in the Premier League.
The sour end to Christensen’s time as a Chelsea player is a blow to Tuchel who is losing Rudiger and facing the uncertainty of new ownership taking over the club after it was hit by Government sanctions.