Diego Costa may have played his last football for Chelsea this season after José Mourinho confirmed he would recall the Spain forward after recent hamstring trouble only if the league leaders are struggling to claim the title.
Chelsea, who are 13 points clear at the top, will secure the Premier League on Sunday if they defeat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and Costa will not be involved in that fixture. The Brazil-born forward has been troubled by hamstring problems since his final few months at Atlético Madrid last year and, having suffered strains before Christmas, suffered a relapse in the victory at Hull in March.
Costa missed Spain’s subsequent international fixtures and, having been thrown on from the bench at half-time against Stoke on 4 April, tore the muscle again in his left leg and was replaced after only 12 minutes. Asked if the striker, who has been taking some part in training over the past 10 days, would feature against Palace, Mourinho said he was “out”.
“It’s not been a setback but it just isn’t worth the risk,” he explained. “In this process, in the last month, if we lose a game and we don’t want to lose a second match, he will be back immediately. But, because the results in the last month were always victories and a draw against the team in second [Arsenal], we don’t need to rush him. We are trying to give him maximum stability for him to be stronger and stronger. No need for any risk.”
Mourinho, who will have Loïc Rémy fit to return on Sunday after calf trouble, was asked if it was likely Costa would feature again this season. “There is a chance he might not,” he said of his 19-goal top scorer. “If we win Sunday, I would say he doesn’t play next week against Liverpool. If we don’t win on Sunday and we need points against Liverpool, I’d say he would play against them. It’s about judging it result after result. If we don’t need him, probably he doesn’t play.”
Costa has begun a personal rehabilitation programme aimed at strengthening the hamstring in the hope he does not suffer similar problems, and will maintain that into the close season, with his participation in Spain’s game in June clearly in doubt. “It’ll be a good period of work, rather than a long break,” said Mourinho. “We are preparing a good working situation for him during the holiday period where he can obviously mix the holiday with work without fear.”
