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Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa Could Reportedly Miss a Month with Thigh Injury
August 13, 2019
Diego Costa could reportedly face a month on the sidelines after suffering a thigh injury against Juventus on Saturday.
In an update via their official website on Tuesday, Atletico Madrid confirmed the striker had suffered "a muscle injury in the adductors of the left thigh" and had undergone an MRI scan to determine the extent of the problem.
Football Espana reported the injury could keep him out for a month.
Costa would have missed their opening game of the campaign against Getafe anyway, as he will be serving the final match of an eight-game suspension he was handed last season for insulting a referee.
A month out could also see him miss fixtures against Leganes, Eibar and Real Sociedad.
Football writer Simon Harrison noted the blow his absence could have:
The striker only scored five goals last season, but between the lengthy ban and recovery from foot surgery, he only made 21 appearances in all competitions.
He's a key player, though, and his goals will be needed even more this season following Antoine Griezmann's departure to Barcelona.
Costa scored four goals as Atletico thrashed Real Madrid 7-3 in July, and he also scored in a 3-0 win over Major League Soccer's All-Stars:
That goal was assisted by Joao Felix, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan observed their burgeoning partnership in Los Rojiblancos' following friendly, a 2-1 win over Atletico San Luis:
It will fall to Alvaro Morata or Nikola Kalinic to fill in for Atletico while Costa is out.
The Spain international's absence will increase the pressure on the 19-year-old Felix, who arrived from Benfica in a €126 million move earlier in the summer.
With Costa on the sidelines, Atleti will be even more reliant on the teenager to make match-winning contributions.