“I think if he doesn’t go to the national team and stays here 15 days for treatment and recovering, he has the perfect chance to be top for Chelsea and top for the national team.”

“If he doesn’t have this period to put himself in good condition...the muscle is in danger of rupture.”

"Diego is so good, I like him so much. He makes so many jokes."

"He is so funny. Every time, he jokes. He plays tricks. But I know and he knows he needs to continue to do what he’s doing on the pitch."

"The difference between last season and this is that we have Diego – and Diego is scoring goals."

"We have good midfield players and Costa scores a lot of goals, so many of them. It is working well. I think we are better than last season, because last year we played very well, but didn’t score the goals."

"But this season we have Costa and Didier Drogba and Loic Remy and the midfield is scoring more goals. Diego has come in and he has adapted very well and for us he has been very good."

"We all know how he will react, he needs to be careful that he doesn’t get too many yellow cards. This is part of the game [opponents targeting him], everyone knows that. He needs to focus."

"He is a very good striker, one of the top three in the world right now. When he is confident, he scores and right now he is confident and in form."

"I hope I am okay to go with Spain."

"If I played 90 minutes it is clear that I am fine, I am feeling better all the time, and it is the boss's decision."

"My reaction to the news he’s in the squad is no reaction because it’s something I imagined. It’s not a surprise."

"He will be in OK condition to play against Arsenal. What happens in the following 15 days is not to do with me. I will pay the consequences of that as all clubs will after the international period."