La Liga side Atletico Madrid has been boosted by the return of striker Diego Costa to the first-team training.

The former Chelsea striker missed three-weeks as he recovered from deep vein thrombosis, but his return to training on Thursday is the first step to a possible return to the field before the end of December.

His recovery is faster than initially anticipated by Diego Simeone’s side after the striker was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right leg just three weeks ago.

Costa has been hit with injury worries this season, having tested positive for COVID-19 in September and pulled a hamstring in the team’s 2-0 win over Celta Vigo.

He has only played five matches this season, raking up a total of 187 minutes, and has only managed a single goal.

The 32-year-old has former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez to contend with for a starting spot in the starting eleven.

Suarez joined Atletico from Barcelona in the summer. Atletico has started the season well as they sit at the top of the La Liga on 26 points with a superior goals difference to Real Sociedad and Real Madrid.

The team moved into the next round of the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday after beating Cardassar 3-0.

Their next game is in the La Liga against Elche on the 19th of December, and they will hope to bounce back from the 2-0 loss to Real in the Madrid derby last weekend.

Meanwhile, Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos have been included in FIFA’s Team of the Year for 2020.

The two players are the only Spain-based players named in the FIFA Team of The Year for 2020, while Spanish international Thiago Alcantara was included.

Furthermore, Bayern Munich Forward Robert Lewandowski was the men’s Best Player for 2020; he beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the award.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu