Costa included in Spain squad
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has named Diego Costa in his squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers while Gerard Pique returns and uncapped duo Rodrigo Moreno and Juan Bernat have also been called up.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho would have preferred to see Costa rested by Spain for the matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg so the in-form striker could receive treatment on his hamstring.
Costa has been in prolific goalscoring form since his £32m summer move to Stamford Bridge but Mourinho revealed last week that the former Atletico Madrid forward was barely training for fear of exacerbating his hamstring problems.
However, Costa said on Wednesday he had no intention of skipping Spain duty and on Friday he was included in Del Bosque’s 23-man squad for next week’s qualifying double-header.
Barca defender Pique, meanwhile, has been drafted back in after being omitted for the opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Macedonia while his club-mate Andres Iniesta returns after injury.
Forward Rodrigo, who is on loan at Valencia from Benfica, and Bayern Munich wing-back Juan Bernat could both be in line to make their senior debuts after being called up.
Two-time reigning European champions Spain, who beat Macedonia 5-1 in their first competitive match since their miserable World Cup defence this summer, go to Slovakia on October 9 and then travel to Luxembourg three days later.
