Chelsea 'to assess Diego Costa fitness on Tuesday'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 16 January 2017

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will reportedly assess the fitness of Diego Costa on Tuesday amid rumours that the striker wants to leave the club.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will reportedly assess the fitness of Diego Costa when the first-team squad return to training on Tuesday.

Costa missed Saturday's Premier League victory over Leicester City having reportedly been unsettled by a lucrative offer from the Chinese Super League which would make him the highest-paid player in the world.

The 28-year-old subsequently trained alone on Sunday and Monday while the rest of the squad were given two days off, and he will now reportedly be given a fitness test tomorrow.

Chelsea insist that Costa's absence from the team to face Leicester was due to a back injury, and that the recent solitary training sessions have been part of his recuperation.

However, numerous reports have claimed that the Spain international is considering an £80m move to Tianjin Quanjian in China.

Costa, who has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, has scored 14 goals in 19 Premier League games to help Chelsea move seven points clear at the top of the table.