Denmark head coach Brian Riemer has revealed that Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen was close to tears after deciding to withdraw from the national team’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Portugal and Norway.

Christensen recently returned to action for Barcelona following a lengthy injury absence but has opted to remain with the Catalan giants to continue working on his fitness.

According to Barca Blaugranes, the 30-year-old was deeply disappointed at having to miss another opportunity to represent his country, with Riemer revealing details of their emotional telephone conversation.

Speaking to Tipsbladet, the Denmark manager explained that Christensen’s decision was particularly difficult because of his strong attachment to the national team.

What Riemer Said

“‘AC’ is another case. We have great respect for that. AC loves the Danish national team, I almost had a crying man on the phone last night, because he is so frustrated and annoyed about this,” he told Tipsbladet.

“But the situation is that he is in a reconstruction process, where we in the national team camp cannot handle it for him, he does that with his physiotherapist, coach and club.

“He has assessed that he is not ready for that, and therefore he has had to make a cancellation and simply state that where his body is right now, he does not feel ready to play international matches. He does so with a bleeding heart.

“We know that the case he is, he is a special player. We are just as interested in him being ready for the month of March.”

Christensen made his first appearance since September during Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.

The experienced centre-back was introduced as a substitute and played the final 30 minutes as Hansi Flick’s side secured an important away victory.

His return marked the end of an injury absence caused by a thigh problem that had kept him out of competitive action for several weeks.

However, despite successfully completing his comeback, Christensen believes he needs more time to regain full match fitness before returning to international duty.