This Diego Costa injury saga is dragging on and on. And it is getting irritating at the moment. Somebody must keep quiet and let the matter settle down, because, this is a frivolous issue everyone is discussing about.
Jose Mourinho, who kept silent all these days, found the time is right to aim a barb at Sergio Ramos, the Real Madrid defender.
There was no tension actually. It is all media hype. Mourinho was annoyed when Costa returned injured from international duty in mid-October. The 26-year-old missed few games for the Blues and but returned to action in 2-1 win against Liverpool at Anfield.
Spain boss Vicente del Bosque chose not to include Costa this time around. He felt the striker needs more rest to recover fully (it was simply a decision taken on doctor’s advice) and therefore chose to exclude him from the 23-man squad. Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas also missed out through injury.
Spanish press saw it differently. They had to find an angle. They had to twist it. They had to find sub-texts of power struggle and club-over-country arguments. Well, journalists can have their say, they are merely doing their job, but things went slightly out-of-control when Real Madrid defender chose to comment on the matter.
“It is difficult because this is not a club team, but the national team where you do not come here every day,” the Real Madrid defender said, per ESPN. “Laying out rules is difficult. Often with injuries there can be a world of difference between what we have and what is said in public.
“Above all I would have like the players to show the same commitment to the national team as they do to their club. You must communicate this commitment and spirit to all the new players. Whether you club pays, or the national team.”
Ramos later clarified that his quotes were mistaken. Del Bosque got involved and clarified his position by saying it was purely his choice to exclude Costa and Fabregas.
Spain press kept on speculating as they claimed all the decisions were taken by doctors of both the camps by letting the Spain boss in dark.
Just the time you felt that Costa injury saga is behind us and football is taking centre stage again, Mourinho took a nice little dig at Ramos.
“Since I know Sergio Ramos, he is a fantastic football player, but he is not a doctor,” the Chelsea manager said (via The Times)
“I am the same. I do my job the best I can, but I am not a doctor. My doctor and the doctor of the Spanish national team, they had the scans and they decided that the player was not in condition to play. I am nobody — nobody — to go against that.
“And unless Sergio did it in the last couple of years, I don’t think he did a medicine masters to understand the body.”
We will not be surprised if Ramos finds time to give a counter-reaction to it. And then some other players. And Del Bosque. Then Costa. And then Mourinho again. No. It must stop now. Costa is fully fit and he is banging in goals, and he will play for Spain in their next international matches. Simple. Why make things so complicated?
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