Report: Chelsea's Diego Costa (groin) not expected to play vs. Man U
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is not expected to play in Sunday's match against Manchester United because of an injured groin, Dominic Fifield of The Guardian reports.
Costa, who transferred to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid before this season, injured his groin while playing for Spain in Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg.
Earlier this week, he missed the team's Champions League match against Maribor with a hamstring injury. The hamstring injury has bothered him throughout the season.
Chelsea manager José Mourinho said the hamstring injury worsened during the qualifying matches because of how much Spain played him. Mourinho said it is out of his hands how players are handled during international competitions.
“There are no rules, no laws to protect us, just the mentality of the national coaches and teams,” he said. “It’s up to them to take good care of the players or to think in a selfish way. It’s up to them, not to us.
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The Guardian reports Chelsea striker Loic Rémy's status depends on the results of an MRI on his injured groin. If Costa and Rémy are unable to play, Didier Drogba would be the team's only healthy and experienced striker.
In nine Premier League matches, Costa has scored nine goals for Chelsea. He had 27 goals in 34 matches last season for Atletico.
Chelsea is in first place in the Premier League with a unbeaten start to the season of 7-1-0.
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- Paul Palladino
