Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has spoken about Andreas Christensen's late withdrawal from their FA Cup final side against Liverpool, revealing that it is 'not the first time' the player has felt unable to play.
The West London side's plans were thrown into disarray on the morning of Saturday's Wembley showdown after the Danish centre-back, who was not injured, informed his club that he would not be able to play.
Liverpool went on to lift the trophy after prevailing on penalty kicks, but Blues boss Tuchel would not share specific details of why Christensen declared himself unavailable.
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Speaking on Wednesday, as per the BBC, Tuchel said: "He had his reasons. They stay private and confidential. But it was not the first time as you can see over the last weeks we had some of the same situations why he did not play so regularly. We thought that we are in a good progression and good development because he played very strong in the match before the final against Leeds.
"But the conversation took place and we have to respect it and we of course respected it and he has our support."
Christensen has made 33 appearances for Chelsea this season, scoring twice. He also help the Blues to clinch the FIFA Club World Cup in February with a 2-1 win against Palmeiras.
