Diego Costa Reportedly Set to Return to Chelsea Team After 'Amicable' Club Talks

Chelsea striker Diego Costa could reportedly return to the Blues first team for Sunday's Premier League game against Hull City following "amicable" discussions between the player and the club. 

According to Sky Sports News HQ, the 28-year-old has returned to training with the first team after the meeting at Chelsea's Cobham training base on Tuesday—he had previously trained on his own for two days.

His omission from the squad that beat Leicester City 3-0 last weekend was officially due to a back injury, but it was widely rumoured Costa had fallen out with manager Antonio Conte over a £30 million-per-year offer from Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian, per Sky Sports News HQ.

Given the reported value of the offer from the Chinese Super League, it did not seem implausible that Costa could end up leaving Stamford Bridge in January:

However, the potential move is now off the table due to new rules in the division, according to Tianjin Quanjian owner Shu Yuhui, per BBC Sport.

And relations between Costa and Chelsea also now seem to have smoothed, likely a big relief to all involved at the west London club.

Conte's Blues looked impressive without him against the Foxes and, in the only other Premier League game in which Costa has not played this season, Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3-0.

However, it would be a huge blow were Chelsea to lose Costa, as he has scored 14 goals in 19 appearances as the Blues have opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, per WhoScored.com.

Per Opta, Chelsea are a more successful side when Costa is playing:

His return to action against Hull would be a big boost for Chelsea as they look to hold off competitors for the title.