Diego Costa out of Manchester City game after three-match ban

Chelsea will be without Diego Costa for Saturday afternoon’s clash with Manchester City, after an independent regulatory commission determined the Spain forward was guilty of violent conduct for a deliberate stamp on Emre Can.

Costa will serve a three-match ban, also missing the Premier League games against Aston Villa and Everton, having unsuccessfully contested the charge brought against him on Wednesday by the Football Association. The player, who received the full backing of his club, had argued contact with Can during the Capital One Cup semi-final win over Liverpool had been purely accidental and pointed out he had not been looking at the player when he planted his right foot on his opponent’s shin in front of the dugouts.

Chelsea are disappointed but not surprised by the outcome of their top scorer’s appeal, which was heard on Friday morning with written evidence submitted on Costa’s behalf, but are not expected to comment on the sanction today. José Mourinho, who has been incensed by what he perceives to be a media-driven “campaign” against his club, had already cancelled his weekly pre-match press conference before the game with City, which he will need to explain to the Premier League.

The manager is expected to select Didier Drogba in Costa’s stead against the champions as the London club seek to extend their lead at the top, though his preparations are further complicated by knocks sustained this week to members of his squad and the proposed departures of André Schürrle and Mohamed Salah. While Filipe Luís, Branislav Ivanovic and Mikel John Obi nurse calf, foot and head injuries respectively, there remain major doubts over Cesc Fàbregas’s involvement in the game. The Spaniard has been training with a physio away from the first-team squad after sustaining a hamstring injury on Tuesday and will be assessed again on Saturday morning.

Costa’s offence was missed by the referee, Michael Oliver, but was reviewed on video by the FA’s governance department. They referred it back to the official who confirmed he would have sent the Brazil-born forward off had he witnessed the stamp first-hand, although a second incident, with Martin Skrtel, was not deemed to have been deliberate. Oliver’s observations, as per Football League rules, prompted the charge which was then fast-tracked to be resolved before the Manchester City game.

“Diego Costa will serve a three-match suspension with immediate effect after a charge of violent conduct against him was found proven by an independent regulatory commission today,” said the FA in a statement. “The Chelsea forward had denied the charge in relation to an on-field incident involving Liverpool’s Emre Can which occurred in the 12th minute of the League Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. The incident was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.”