BARCELONA (AP) — Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen faces a long spell on the sidelines after tearing the ACL in his left knee in training on Saturday.
Barcelona said Sunday in a statement on X that the injury happened when the Danish central defender twisted his knee.
Defending champion Barcelona leads the La Liga standings and was playing at Villarreal later Sunday.
The 29-year-old Christensen has made 97 appearances for Barca since joining in 2022. He has played 79 times for Denmark.
The injury is likely to rule him out of Denmark's World Cup playoff semifinal against North Macedonia on March 26.
The European playoff finals are five days later against Czech Republic or Ireland, with the winner going into Group A at the World Cup alongside co-host Mexico.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Guadalajara's Samu Mayo, left, vies for the ball with Barcelona's Andreas Christensen during the Copa del Rey soccer match between Guadalajara and Barcelona in Guadalajara, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Rudy Garcia)
ASSEN, Netherlands (AP) — A priceless ancient golden helmet from Romania stolen last year from a museum in the Netherlands has been recovered, Dutch authorities announced Thursday.
Under the guard of heavily armed, balaclava-clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization, during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen.
“We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It has been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”
The helmet was on display at the small museum in January 2025, the last weekend of a six-month-long exhibition, when thieves broke in and grabbed it, along with three golden wristbands.
There were fears the helmet may have been melted down because its fame and dramatic studded appearance made it virtually unsellable.
Two of three missing armbands were also recovered as part of a deal prosecutors reached with three men arrested for the heist shortly after it occurred. Their trial will begin later in April.
Fahner said the search for the remaining armband would continue.
The helmet did not return unscathed.
“The helmet is slightly dented, but there will be no permanent damage,” Drents Museum director Robert van Langh said during the news conference. “The armbands are in perfect condition.”
Thieves used a homemade firework bomb and sledgehammer to break into the museum. Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.
The theft put a strain on relations between the Netherlands and Romania
Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year called the incident a “crime against our state” and said recovering the artifacts “is an absolute priority.”
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Associated Press writers Molly Quell and Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Netherlands.
A stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
A Police officer stands by a stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
Police officers stand by a stolen artefact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
