MADRID : Spain striker Diego Costa has injured his left hamstring and will miss the country's first qualifier for the European Championship, the Spanish football federation said Friday.
The federation said in a statement that Costa underwent an MRI scan in Madrid after being injured in a 1-0 loss to France in a friendly on Thursday.
The Chelsea striker failed to get a single shot on target and was substituted in the 67th in that game, which was supposed to be coach Vicente del Bosque's first attempt at rebuilding the national squad after a disappointing World Cup in Brazil.
Spain plays Macedonia on Monday in its first Euro 2016 qualifier and Costa's place in the squad has been taken by Barcelona forward Munir El Haddadi. The 19-year-old forward, who has had an impressive start to the season at Barcelona, had been training with Spain's Under-21 squad.
El Haddidi has shown maturity and confidence in attack, scoring against Elche in his first league match.
