Diego Costa out for Atlético for two to three weeks
Atlético Madrid issued a statement on their club website saying that the Spain striker has suffered a hamstring injury and could miss the Villarreal game.
Atlético Madrid have announced that Diego Costa has picked up a hamstring problem, casting doubt on his availability for the league match against Villarreal after the international break.
Although Atlético did not speculate for how long the striker may be sidelined, AS consulted in-house expert Dr José González, who said the estimated time of recovery would be two to three weeks.
The Spain international was substituted 69 minutes Atlético’s 3-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge at the Metropolitano on Wednesday and an MRI scan on Friday confirmed the injury.
Costa was not included in Luis Enrique’s latest Spain squad and the La Roja coach did not confirm whether he had been in line for a call-up before the injury despite his presence in the stands during the Brugge game.
The Spain striker will definitely be unavailable for the match against Betis on Sunday but has a chance of recovering in time for the trip to Villarreal after the international break.
Costa has been plagued by injuries since his return to Atlético from Chelsea, missing a total of nine games to date with six separate issues that have sidelined him for over a month in total.
Neither has Costa been enjoying good fortune in front of goal. His last league strike came during a 5-2 defeat of Sevilla last February and he is now on his longest domestic drought since 2010-11, a run that he will have to wait longer now to bring to a halt.
Diego Simeone will also be without José María Giménez for the visit of Betis after the Uruguay international was also injured against Brugge, while Vitolo and Stefan Savic are also out.
