adminLONDON. — Striker Diego Costa, who has scored seven goals for Chelsea in his first four English Premier League games, cannot play more than once a week because of a hamstring problem, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said.
Mourinho, looking down in the dumps after Chelsea could only draw 1-1 with Schalke 04 in their opening Champions League Group G soccer match on Wednesday night, started with returning veteran striker Didier Drogba in attack with Costa on the bench against the Germans.
The Brazil-born Spain international, who cost Chelsea 32 million pounds when he joined from Atletico Madrid in the summer, replaced Drogba in the 74th minute, but could not keep up his remarkable scoring record which includes four goals in pre-season and seven in the League including his hat-trick against Swansea City on Saturday.
Mourinho said Costa’s injury is not connected to one he suffered towards the end of last season and which restricted him to just the first nine minutes when he played for Atletico against Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final. He did recover from that to play for Spain in the World Cup and Mourinho added: “When he came to us he was completely fine. He got the problem with the national team.”
Costa picked up the injury in Spain’s 1-0 defeat to France on September 4 and Mourinho said he could not play more than one match a week for the time being.
“If he has one week to let the muscle recover he can start. He played on Saturday and was not in condition to start the game today.”
Costa scored the last time he played in a Champions League match at Stamford Bridge — when he banged home a penalty in Atletico’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in last season’s semi-final — but failed to hit the target during the later stages of the game against Schalke as Chelsea sought the winner. — Soccernet.
Online Reporter