Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says Diego Costa’s hamstring problem is significantly worse than it was prior to the recent international matches.
Mourinho was unhappy that Costa was called up by Spain and featured in back-to-back Euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg.
The striker subsequently missed the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday and has been ruled out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Maribor at Stamford Bridge.
And Mourinho says he remains unsure when Costa will be available for selection again.
The Portuguese explained: “It’s the same problem he’s been having. Now it’s an injury, not an almost-injury.
“It’s simple. He’s now not training because he is not in condition to do it.
“Tomorrow he cannot play. Let’s see what happens next week but next week is not important, tomorrow is important.”
Andre Schurrle and Ramires have also been ruled out of the Maribor game despite training with the rest of the Blues squad on Monday morning.
Schurrle withdrew from the Germany squad last week because of illness and Ramires is recovering from muscle injury.
John Mikel Obi also remains sidelined with a foot injury the Nigerian picked up while on international duty, while Didier Drogba has recovered from an ankle problem but is not fit enough to play full match.
“Mikel made a big effort to be available for the weekend. He also came back from the national team with a problem and he can’t do it tomorrow,” Mourinho said.
“Didier is not in condition to play 90 minutes – no chance of that. But he is in much better condition and is fit to play.”
Beating Maribor would leave Chelsea with seven points from their opening three Champions League games and put them in a commanding position at the top of Group G.
“It’s important to win because the group is not easy,” said Mourinho.
“Sporting is a good team playing better and better, Schalke is a good team and Maribor have played eight matches and didn’t lose – and when I study them I understand why they didn’t lose.”
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This post was last modified on 21/10/2014