Chelsea F.C. manager, Antonio Conte, left the door open for striker, Diego Costa, to return to the starting lineup.

The Brazilian born Spanish striker was missing from the team sheet of a Chelsea three to nothing victory over reigning English Premier League Champions, Leicester City. According to sources, Costa had been training alone at Cobham for three days as opposed to with his teammates. There have also been reports that Costa and a Chelsea fitness coach were involved in a heated altercation. All of this comes as rumors swirl that Costa may leave Chelsea to join the Chinese Super League at some point in January. According to Conte, the reason for Costa being absent from the team sheet is simple: he had an injured back.

“If you want to know the truth, I’m ready to tell the truth. The truth is this: on Tuesday during the training session, Diego stopped because he felt a pain in his back,” said Conte. “From that moment he didn’t train during the week and for this reason today he wasn’t available to come with the squad. This is the reason, this is the truth.”

Conte went on to dismiss the absence of Costa from the team sheet as mere media sensationalizing. According to Conte, the real story on the day was the win over Leicester City.

“Today I can’t be concerned about this because my players showed me a great performance, great spirit of a team and it’s very important,” said Conte.