Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has insisted that Diego Costa is not fit enough to join up for international duty next month.
The Chelsea forward has been left out of La Roja's 23-man squad for their matches against Costa Rica and Belarus in June.
Costa's absence caused surprise, but Del Bosque has revealed that the Chelsea striker was not in contention due to his injury problems in the second half of the campaign.
"[The absence of] Diego Costa is not an isolated issue," Del Bosque told reporters. "He's in the process of overcoming muscle discomfort and we can't afford to experiment with him.
"We saw that he wasn't in top condition, so you shouldn't raise doubts about his absence. I considered bringing him."
Spain will face Costa Rica on June 11, before tackling Belarus in a Euro 2016 qualifier three days later.
Written by
Matt Law
Matt Law
