Spain’s Brazilian-born striker Diego Costa risks missing next month’s World Cup after doctors warned Monday that a hamstring injury will force him to rest for two weeks.
Costa, 25, left the pitch after nine minutes of his club Atletico Madrid’s Champions League final against Real Madrid on Saturday after having urgent treatment on the thigh-tear.
“He is not better. He is at best the same as before that match,” said Doctor Pedro Guillen, head of the Cemtro clinic where the Spain team sent the player for a scan.
“He still has a grade-one strain in his right hamstring and needs to rest for at least two weeks,” the doctor told radio station Cope.
European and world champions Spain play their first World Cup group match against the Netherlands on June 13.
“He could be there, but it will depend on his progress,” Guillen said.
Spain manager Vicente del Bosque has put off naming his full squad to monitor the fitness of Costa and other key players from Atletico and Real Madrid after Saturday’s final.
Real won the clash in Lisbon 4-1 after extra time.
Del Bosque has named three forwards — David Silva, Fernando Torres and Pedro Rodriguez — in a 19-man squad for a friendly match against Bolivia on May 30.
He will finalise his World Cup squad after that match, potentially adding Costa and seven other Atletico and Real Madrid players to the long list before whittling it down to 23.
Spain face Chile and Australia in World Cup Group B along with the Netherlands — their opponents in their 2010 World Cup final triumph.
