Diego Costa will not travel with the Chelsea squad on their pre-season tour of Asia after manager Antonio Conte gave the Spain international an extended leave of absence.

Chelsea's official website confirmed Costa's absence on the first day of pre-season training at Cobham on 10 July, saying the club had decided that the striker "should have an extra few days off".

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The Guardian says Costa, who is currently on holiday in Brazil, will be omitted from the group flying to China next week for a friendly match against Arsenal.

The 28-year-old striker is expected to exit Stamford Bridge this summer after Conte informed him via text message that he was no longer part of his plans last month.

Atletico Madrid are reported to have a tabled a £26m ($34m) bid for the forward, even though they are barred from registering new players until January due to a transfer ban.

Costa admitted last month that he was interested in rejoining Atletico, but expressed concern over potentially missing five months of football ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

"Conte has sent a message saying that he does not want me. If they don't want me there, I'll have to search for a team," Costa was reported as saying by the Daily Mirror.

Diego Costa
Diego Costa's relationship with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has reportedly broken down Getty Images

"To go to Atleti would be nice but I have to think about it. This is a World Cup year and I cannot be not playing for three or four months."

Chelsea are determined to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid as Costa's replacement after losing out on Everton striker Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United.

Conte has reportedly instructed the board to pursue a £70m deal for the 24-year-old, whom he signed for Juventus before taking the Italy job in 2014.

Chelsea also expect to complete a £35m deal for Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko this week.

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