Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been called up for Spain's upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers, despite his club coach Jose Mourinho suggesting the in-form centre-forward needed rest to regain full fitness.
La Roja coach Vicente del Bosque has included Costa in his 23-man squad for the games in Slovakia on Oct. 9 and Luxembourg on Oct. 12, with Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique returning to the squad.
Del Bosque has also handed first call-ups for Valencia forward Rodrigo and Bayern Munich left-back Juan Bernat -- although Fernando Torres and Juan Mata miss out.
OFICIAL | Convocatoria de la @SeFutbol para medirse a Eslovaquia y Luxemburgo / Spain's Call Up | #Euro2016 pic.twitter.com/wbaeGw25r8
- Selección Española (@SeFutbol) October 3, 2014
Brazil-born Costa declared himself fit to join up with the squad after completing the 90 minutes of Chelsea's 1-0 Champions League group win at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, and is expected to feature in the current Premier League leaders' highly anticipated clash with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Blues coach Mourinho had suggested that the 32 million-pound summer signing from Atletico Madrid, who has scored eight goals in his first six Premier League games, would need to use the next international break to recover properly from a long-running hamstring problem.
Del Bosque told a news conference on Friday in Madrid that there was no reason to suggest Costa -- who has yet to score in five caps for his adopted country -- should not be named in the squad.
"If we are bringing Diego Costa, it is because he is fit," the veteran coach said. "We never force anybody to play. They always have the all-clear from the doctors. He is playing all the games [with Chelsea]."
The call-ups for former underage international stars Rodrigo, 23, and Bernat, 21, were likely to be the first of many contributions for the senior side, del Bosque said.
"The performances of Rodrigo and Bernat have been good; they have passed through the under-21s" he said. "With Bernat we have considered that with his characteristics he can play at the back, or further forward on the left. Rodrigo has also played at Valencia on the right, or as a second striker. They should be players who are with Spain for many years."
Pique's return was uncertain, given the defender had asked to be left out of Spain's most recent internationals to recover from a hip problem, and is also not seen as first choice by his club coach Luis Enrique.
Del Bosque admitted that the decision had been made at least in part due to a lack of other options in what is now a problem position for Spain.
"We are only looking at sporting matters with Pique," he said. "We look at his condition and whether he can be useful for us. We consider he is playing enough and his hip problem has improved. The reality is that there are many foreign centre-backs in La Liga. It is true that we lack options in this position."
Defending European champions Spain began their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a straightforward 5-1 home win over Macedonia last month, and are expected to have few problems on the way to the tournament in France.
Del Bosque said there would be no complacency in his thinking ahead of the upcoming games.
"You do not beat anyone easily," he said. "Slovakia already beat Ukraine, and for a while now Luxembourg have not been being hammered."
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David de Gea (Manchester United), Kiko Casilla (Espanyol).
Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Juan Bernat (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Raul Garcia (Atlético Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Ander Iturraspe (Athletic Bilbao).
Forwards: Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Chelsea), Rodrigo [Valencia], Paco Alcacer (Valencia).