Costa facing spell on the sidelines after hamstring injury confirmed by Atletico

Joe Wright

Costa facing spell on the sidelines after hamstring injury confirmed by Atletico image

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has sustained damage to his left hamstring, the club have confirmed.

The Spain international was substituted 69 minutes into his side's 3-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.

Costa was sent for an MRI scan on Friday that showed he has a problem with his hamstring.

Atletico did not speculate on how long he will need to recover.

The former Chelsea forward netted twice in the UEFA Super Cup win over Real Madrid in August and once in the Champions League victory over Monaco last month, but has struggled for form in La Liga.

Costa has failed to score in any of his seven league matches this term and his last goal in the top flight was back in February, in the 5-2 defeat of Sevilla.

Atletico face Real Betis on Sunday in their final match before the international break.

Costa had already been left out of the Spain squad by Luis Enrique.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.