Diego Costa returns to Spain squad for Euro qualifiers

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has picked an experienced squad for the matches on September 5, at home to Slovakia, and the trip to Macedonia three days later.

Spain are currently second behind Slovakia, who beat them 2-1 last October, in Group C.

Costa's last appearance for Spain was three days after that defeat in a 4-0 win over Luxembourg.

Since then he has struggled with injury problems and a dispute between his English Premier League club and La Roja.

"Diego Costa was picked for sporting reasons, he wasn't in the best conditions," said Del Bosque.

"But he's overcome his physical problems and we have faith in him."

Brazil-born Costa's Chelsea teammates Pedro Rodriguez and Cesar Azpilicueta have also been picked, alongside Manchester United's Juan Mata, called up for the first time since last year's World Cup in Brazil.

"We can't experiment much, we want to start with a fixed group," added Del Bosque.

"These are two vital matches and we need six points to close in on the Euros."

Another Manchester United player picked is goalkeeper David de Gea, despite not having played this season as his club manager Louis van Gaal considers him unsettled by interest from Real Madrid.

The 23 players called up by Del Bosque for matches against Slovakia and Macedonia:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto/POR), David de Gea (Manchester United/ENG), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)

Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Marc Bartra (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea/ENG), Juan Bernat (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal/ENG), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea/ENG), Isco (Real Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City/ENG), Juan Mata (Manchester United/ENG)

Forwards: Pedro Rodriguez (Chelsea/ENG), Paco Alcacer (Valencia), Vitolo Machin (Sevilla) et Diego Costa (Chelsea/ENG)