Chelsea manager confirms star man is available for Sunday

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed Diego Costa is available for selection for Sunday’s reception of Hull after overcoming his back problems.

Costa was left out of the Chelsea squad that beat Leicester 3-0 last weekend and there were doubts whether the Brazilian-born Spain international would feature for the Premier League leaders again.

The 28-year-old did not train with the Chelsea squad towards the end of last week after arguing with Conte and members of his fitness staff amid speculation linking him with a big money move to China.

Costa remained at Cobham over the weekend and trained with a fitness coach on Monday to overcome pain he was suffering in his back before returning to full training with the rest of the Chelsea team on Tuesday and Conte has now declared the striker fit to play this weekend.

“After the game against Leicester, I told you the truth and I repeat, I heard a lot of speculation about Diego,” Sky Sports quote Conte as saying. “But now, the most important thing is he trained with us this week and he hasn’t pain in his back and he is able to come back into our squad against Hull City.

“Diego is an important player for us. When he stays in good form, he has always played for me. We’ll see on Sunday [if he starts]. I don’t want to give an advantage to our opponents.”

Costa has arguably been the best player in the Premier League this season and his resurgent form in front of goal has been integral behind Chelsea’s stunning success under Conte this season.

In fact, Costa is currently tied in a race with Alexis Sanchez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to finish the season as the league’s top goalscorer (14 goals).

For more stats on Diego Costa, click here to visit his WhoScored player page