Can Diego be trusted?
What a question!
Diego Costa, the warrior, the man who when meeting John Terry and the rest of the Chelsea FC players said in broken English:
I go to war. You come with me.
Diego Costa, the fearsome striker that the Blues fans have been praying for, and the question “Can he be trusted?” is being asked!
Although it seems blasphemous, the question has to be asked, maybe with another word added however.
Can Diego Costa’s hamstrings be trusted?
Diego was brought into the Chelsea FC family in July last year as the missing piece in the attacking line up. A natural successor to Didier Drogba with an ultra competitive streak, nasty as other fans would say, he was the man who would score the goals to win us the Premier League title.
Diego lived up to the hype, scored the goals and wound up defenders. Stamford Bridge had a new hero!
Unfortunately the Spaniard also lived up to his reputation with another aspect of his game, his dodgy hamstrings.
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Last season Chelsea played a total of 54 games.
Diego Costa played in 37 of those.
Diego Costa only played a full match 13 times.
Is that someone who can be trusted to lead the line throughout a full Premier League and Champions League campaign?
Of course while on the pitch he was brilliant, scoring 20 goals and giving defenders, referees and the FA nightmares, how much better could his stats have been if he had decent hamstrings?
At the end of last season I hoped that he would be allowed to have an operation to strengthen them but the decision was made that a complete rest would be sufficient, so the surgeon’s knife was put to one side.
Based on that medical decision Jose Mourinho didn’t actively search for a replacement for Didier Drogba apart from a loan signing of someone with dodgy knees, Radamel Falcao.
Now as the new season approaches it has emerged that Diego’s hamstrings aren’t right. They have appeared to have gone again resulting in him missing the Community Shield loss to Arsenal, and depending upon the full extent of the injury he may well miss at least the start of the season.
This will leave a lack of quality in the very position that Jose Mourinho thought was sorted, with Falcao and Loic Remy the only choices up front. Without casting aspersions on either of those players, they are not the type of player who can act as the target man to hold up play for the attacking midfielders to burst through onto.
Jose, therefore, will not be alone in quite rightly asking for explanations from his medical team to the following questions:
Why didn’t Diego have surgery in the summer?
Why wasn’t the hamstring problem detected during the pre-season games in the USA?
Can Diego’s hamstrings last this season?
Can I trust Diego?
What do you think? Can Diego Costa be trusted to lead the line for Chelsea FC in the defence of our Premier league crown?
A few clicks in the comment section below and you can let us know if you think it is a risk too far, or if the Blues should sign another marquee striker before the transfer window closes. Get involved!
Next: Chelsea FC 0-1 Arsenal: FA Community Shield Reflections