Del Bosque not prepared to risk Costa

Diego Costa may have made a goalscoring return for Chelsea last weekend but Vicente Del Bosque is not prepared to risk him for Spain.

The striker has been hampered by injuries throughout the season – his international opportunities limited as Chelsea focused on getting him fit for the league.

A first-half penalty in the 3-1 win over Sunderland took him to 20 league goals for the champions but Del Bosque is keen to give him time to rest, rather than push him into games with Costa Rica and Belarus.

“[The absence of] Diego Costa is not an isolated issue,” said the Spain head coach. “He’s in the process of overcoming muscle discomfort and we can’t afford to experiment with him.

“We saw that he wasn’t in top condition, so you shouldn’t raise doubts about his absence. I considered bringing him.” 

Del Bosque also explained that Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara had been omitted for similar reasons, but Cesc Fabregas has been included after assurances over his fitness from Chelsea.

He added: “We’ve been in contact with Thiago Alcantara. He wanted to join [the squad], but he has a slight muscle strain that’s being treated in Barcelona. 

“It was best not to force [his inclusion], but we’re counting on him.

“We’ve had a problem with Cesc as he needs a nose operation, but we’ve included him similarly to [Sergio] Ramos. We have guarantees that they’ll be ready for June.”