CBarca wrote:Valdes, or any decent keeper, would have saved that shot. Not going to take anything away from the shot, which was brilliant, but from that range at that angle even a shot like Diego's shouldn't be going in.

Atlético Madrid thought they might have a real problem on their hands, when Diego Costa had to be replaced in the 29th minute of the clash against Barcelona on Tuesday night, but further tests have shown that he could be set to return very soon.

Diego Simeone opted to take a calculated risk, by playing Diego Costa in the Champions League first-leg clash against Barcelona on Tuesday night. Discomfort ahead of the game didn’t seem to impede him in his typically physical approach to the game, but one knock too many took its toll and after just half an hour played, he had to be replaced.

As fate would have it though, it was another ‘Diego’ who stole the headlines. Replacing Diego Costa for the remainder of the game was Diego Ribas, who scored an absolute pearl of a goal to give Atlético the lead. Ultimately though, Barca hauled their way back into the game with a goal from Neymar.

Upon returning to the Spanish capital on Wednesday, Diego Costa visited the FREMAP Clinic to undergo further tests, having at first feared that he may have suffered a hamstring tear. Fortunately for Atlético, the news is much more positive. The striker has suffered a painful strain in the back of his left thigh, but there were no signs of any tears or further damage to the muscles.

As such, though Diego Costa will certainly be out of this weekend’s La Liga encounter with Villarreal, he should be just about ready to return against Barcelona in the second-leg of their titanic European contest, at the Vicente Calderón.