Diego Costa pulls out of Spain squad: Striker injured playing for Chelsea
Costa will miss games against Ukraine and Netherlands
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea striker Diego Costa has pulled out of Spain's squad owing to a hamstring injury sustained whilst playing against Hull City at the weekend.
It means the Brazilian born player will miss the holders' Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Ukraine on Friday and a friendly away to Netherlands four days later.
Spanish football federation medical staff confirmed the injury in tests in Madrid in a statement this morning.
"Diego Costa will return to Chelsea where he will undergo the corresponding medical treatment," the federation said.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admitted Costa's injury issues are a concern after the 3-2 win over Hull on Sunday in which Costa scored before requesting to come off after 77 minutes.
Asked if he was worried about Costa, Mourinho said: “Yes, but I don’t know how serious it is. When a striker is playing and you need a goal to win a game with 15 minutes to go, when he says it’s over for him, then it’s over for me.
“He has this problem since he tried to play in the Champions League final.
“We know his hamstring is not a strong one, he works hard during the week to compensate for this weakness he has there, but an injury can come.”
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has already drafted Juanmi in as cover, the 21-year-old Malaga forward winning his first call-up after representing Spain at junior level.
With four matches played, Spain are second in Group C on nine points, three behind leaders Slovakia, who beat them 2-1 in Zilina in October, and level with Ukraine.
The friendly against Netherlands in Amsterdam on March 31 is a repeat of the 2010 World Cup final and the first time the teams clash since Netherlands crushed Spain 5-1 in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments