Costa's omission confirmed for Leicester clash
Diego Costa's name was indeed absent from Chelsea's team sheet for Saturday's fixture at Leicester City, confirming reports he was dropped from manager Antonio Conte's weekend plans after a dispute with a fitness coach.
Chelsea subs v Leicester: Begovic, Ivanovic, Zouma, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Batshuayi. #LEICHE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 14, 2017
Costa was involved in an argument with Conte's coaching staff over their assessment of a back injury earlier in the week, and didn't train with the squad for the past three days, according to various British outlets, including the BBC and The Telegraph.
Conte confirmed the timeline and the nature of the injury before Saturday's match, but neglected to go into too much detail.
"On Tuesday, Diego stopped training with a pain in his back and then in the week he didn't train with us," said the Italian. "We played without Diego against Bournemouth, and we have had time to prepare for this. We've prepared very well.
Eden Hazard will play as a false nine in Conte's 3-4-3 formation for the time being, with Willian and Pedro on the Belgian's flanks.
Hazard thrived in the role in a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth on Boxing Day, when Costa had to serve a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Related: 3 ways Chelsea can line up without Diego Costa
The Brazilian is still Chelsea's leading scorer with 14 Premier League tallies.