"They stay private and confidential" - Tuchel suggests 26-year-old Chelsea star has already played his last game for the club 

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has insinuated that defender Andreas Christensen has played his last game for the club.

Chelsea are set to host Leicester City in the penultimate game of their season on Thursday and the Danish defender is set to miss out due to personal reasons. Christensen will leave the club in the summer and has been linked with a move to Barcelona, having reportedly rejected the Blues' latest contract offer.

Speaking ahead of the game, as reported by Football London, Tuchel was asked about Christensen's involvement in the game against Leicester and whether he would be available for the final league game against Watford on Sunday. The German was seemed coy and was uncertain whether the defender would play in either of the games. He said:

"Not sure yet if he's involved tomorrow and at the weekend. Andreas came on the morning of the match and told me he was not ready for the match. He had his reasons, they stay private and confidential, but it was not the first time. It was on very short notice before the cup final and other matches in the weeks before. So no chance I have any prediction for tomorrow and the weekend."

The defender has made only 32 appearances across all competitions this season and has struggled to nail down a starting spot due to form and injuries. Christensen graduated from the Chelsea academy back in 2013, but has only gone on to make 161 appearances for the club.

"We had to accept it" - Tuchel on Christensen's absence for Chelsea

Christensen in action for the Blues

Christensen has only started two of Chelsea's last seven games across all competitions and missed the FA Cup final against Liverpool due to personal reasons. Tuchel suggested that the defender has not been mentally ready to play games over the last few weeks. He said:

"We had to accept it and will accept it. I believe Andreas wanted to play these matches and could in terms of potential and what he gave to the team, but he struggled over the last weeks when he wasn't in the squad or not playing. Although he was physically available. So it wasn't out of the blue sky."