Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 9y

Resting Chelsea's Diego Costa would have been 'crazy' - Spain assistant

Spain assistant coach Toni Grande has said it would have been "crazy" to follow Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's wishes and rest striker Diego Costa for their most recent Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Speaking ahead of Spain's games against Slovakia and Luxembourg, Mourinho urged Spain coach Vicente del Bosque to allow the in-form centre-forward to rest and recover from a groin problem.

However, Costa played in both games and has since missed Chelsea's 2-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace and the 6-0 Champions League victory at home to Maribor.

Reports this week said the 26-year-old was admitted to hospital with a severe stomach bug, and he remains a major doubt for Sunday's Premier League clash at Manchester United.

Grande told Radio Marca that not fielding him Costa in the qualifiers had not been a realistic option for Spain.

"He told us that if we did not call him it would not be a problem," he said. "That never came into our heads. How are we going to ignore a player like him, the top scorer in England? We would be crazy."

Brazil-born Costa had been under pressure after not scoring in his first six internationals for after switching his international allegiance to Spain, and Grande said giving him the chance to break his duck against Luxembourg had been part of Del Bosque's thinking.

"[Costa] lifted the pressure on himself with the goal," he said. "If he had scored in the first half, we would have changed him at half-time. It was a relief for everyone."

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