Chelsea star Diego Costa left out of Spain squad by Vicente del Bosque due to fitness concerns

Spain manager Vicente del Bosque has left Diego Costa out of the international squad for the games against Costa Rica and Belarus as he believes the Chelsea striker is not yet fully fit to play.

Spain host Costa Rica on 11 June for a friendly before a visit to Belarus for their Group C European Championship qualifying match three days later.

The Spain international missed the two previous national team call-ups due to injuries. Costa was under scrutiny in Spain after ruling himself out of the squad against Belarus and Germany in November 2014 citing injury, even though he had played for Chelsea in a victory over Liverpool just before the international break.

Nevertheless, the striker closed the debate while proving his commitment to Del Bosque's side in March when, despite being injured for the games against Ukraine and the Netherlands, he travelled to Spain on his own initiative to undergo a scan with the Spanish doctors.

Costa has since struggled with hamstring problems, missing six Chelsea games, and even though he has returned to action for the last two matches of the campaign, against West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, Del Bosque has opted to give him further rest.

"Diego Costa's chase is a singular issue. He has played with Chelsea the last two games but not the full 90 minutes. He has muscular discomfort and we have two complicated matches in which we have to be confident. It should not generate any doubt about him, we praise him and just like [Paco] Alcacer did not come in the past for the same reasons, now Costa has not made the cut," Del Bosque explained.

Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea and Manchester City playmaker David Silva have been included in the squad, while Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta and United midfielder Juan Mata have been left out.