I have never caused any serious injuries to opponents on the field, says Chelsea's Diego Costa

Diego Costa says that he is strong & fair in his challenges, and that he’s never hurt opponents

Chelsea forward Diego Costa has said that while he does play in an aggressive manner on the pitch, he has never caused any serious injury to any of the players on the field.

The 26-year-old Spaniard will be available for selection for the Blues’ home fixture against Burnley next Saturday, after completing his three-match suspension for stamping on Liverpool midfielder Emre Can during the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final held at Stamford Bridge in January.

“I consider myself a player who fights and gives everything on the pitch. Those who know me and appreciate those values understand what I say,” Costa said in an interview with Sport Magazine.

'If you check my records, you will find out that I’ve never caused a bad injury to any player. The bottom line is that sometimes the little things I do on the pitch provoke exaggerated reactions. But if you rewind a bit and go through what they did to me, you may have another point of view,” he added.

“Referees in the Premier League not as strict as the ones in the La Liga”

Costa further said that referees in the Premier League are a bit more lenient as compared to La Liga and added that footballers need to have sufficient stamina to last for the entire duration of 90 minutes.

“In England, the referees don’t call many fouls, as opposed to Spanish football. Consequently, you must be really strong all through the 90 minutes. I am getting used to getting kicked more than before. Premier League defenders are really strong and physical,” the former Atletico Madrid striker said.

“Some of the kicks I suffer in England would be punished with a red card in Spain. My challenges on the ball are strong but noble at the same time,” Costa added.

“Jose Mourinho is a clever manager”

The Spaniard has been one of the key reasons for Chelsea’s domination at the top of the table from the beginning of the season, having scored 17 goals in the 19 Premier League games that he has played in so far.

He also had some kind words to say about his manager at the club, Jose Mourinho and admitted that he has learnt a lot from him.

“We all know that he’s among the best managers in the world. When you arrive in a team with a manager like him, you try to spot every single thing you can learn from him. Every manager has a different way of reading the game. In regards to Jose Mourinho, he is a clever manager who spots very well the opponent’s virtues and weaknesses. Our training sessions are based on that,” Costa said.