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The penalty converted against Sunderland on the final day took Costa’s goal tally to an impressive 20, though the Brazil-born forward’s impact had been undermined by a succession of hamstring injuries. While he returned as a substitute for the last two games, he has not completed a full 90 minutes since Chelsea’s draw with Southampton in mid-March.
Chelsea have been anxious not to aggravate Costa’s problem. He was omitted from the Spain squad for their friendly with Costa Rica and the Euro 2016 qualifier against Belarus later this month after the Spain head coach, Vicente del Bosque, cited concerns over his fitness. Chelsea’s manager, José Mourinho, withdrew him as a precaution after a 25-minute cameo in the friendly against Thailand All Stars in Bangkok on Saturday as the striker was deemed “tired”.
The club have ruled out surgery and are endeavouring to strengthen Costa’s thigh muscles and increase the elasticity of his hamstring to ensure the same problems do not reoccur next season. Efforts will also be made to ensure he has recovered psychologically from the problem.
The 26-year-old split with his girlfriend after swapping Spain for England and has struggled with the language, and reports surfaced in Madrid on Monday that he was unsettled and seeking a return to Atlético.
Chelsea, who paid £32m for his services last summer, have dismissed those suggestions and will not countenance any bids for his services.
Costa, who has remained publicly upbeat with his team-mates and has trained for Chelsea’s game against Sydney FC on Tuesday, has been deeply frustrated by the succession of niggles, which date back to his time at Atlético where he was forced off early in the European Cup final against Real Madrid last May. He is understandably wary of suffering further relapses.
Chelsea are likely to be in regular contact with Atlético this summer as they weigh up a £43m move for the France international forward Antoine Griezmann, a fee which would trigger the buy-out clause in his deal, but also over the potential sale of Filipe Luís back to the Spanish club. The left-back, a close friend of Costa’s, has struggled to make much of an impact in his first year and is expected to return to Vicente Calderón, with Toby Alderweireld possibly moving in the opposite direction.
The Belgium international, 26, spent last season impressing on loan at Southampton and would offer the Premier League champions back-up in defence as well as in midfield. Tottenham Hotspur are expected to compete with Chelsea and Southampton to secure Alderweireld on a permanent basis this summer.
