Diego Costa may still make Champions League final

Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has said he will give Diego Costa and Arda Turan every chance to prove their fitness ahead of the Champions League final against Real Madrid on Saturday.

Both players were forced off with injuries inside the first 25 minutes as Atlético claimed their first La Liga title in 18 years with a 1-1 draw away to Barcelona at the weekend.

Spanish media reported on Monday that Costa will miss the final after suffering the recurrence of a hamstring problem, whilst Turan has a hip injury.

"We are just starting the week. There are still a few days to go and we are not going to jump the gun because I think it is too early for such an important game, but we need the players to be in the right condition.

"We will wait to see how Costa and Arda recover until the end of the week and we will look for alternatives if they don't recover."

Atlético go into the game full of confidence having ended Real and Barcelona's 10-year domination of La Liga and having lost just twice in 10 meetings against the two this season.

However, Simeone played down the influence winning the league could have in Lisbon.

"Winning is always good, but you have to move on straight away. We need to be 100 per cent concentrated and I am sure the players will respond as they have always done in the biggest games."

Victory on Saturday would deliver the fifth trophy of a glorious two-and-a-half year spell since Simeone took over in December 2011.

Colombia Loses Top Scorer

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao will not recover in time from a knee injury to play in this summer's World Cup in Brazil, according to French sports daily L'Equipe, which said the physician for the Andean country's national squad will make the official announcement in the coming days.

The 28-year-old AS Monaco player tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Jan. 22 in a French Cup match and has not been able to speed along his recovery enough to compete for Colombia at soccer's premier showcase, which gets underway on June 12.

Citing sources at the French club, L'Equipe said the Colombian soccer federation is considering the best way to communicate the news about its star player, who may give a press conference in his homeland on Tuesday.

Monaco on Friday posted a photo on its Web site showing the player in uniform and practicing on the field under the headline "Falcao is training!" But L'Equipe said the image did not provide a true picture of the Colombian's condition.

Falcao's father had already said two days ago that the former Atletico Madrid star may not recover in time to represent his country in Brazil.

"Medically he's doing very well, but not soccer-wise," he said.

Since sustaining the injury during a match against a French third-division team, Falcao has been trying to beat doctors' projected recovery time of six months.

Colombia, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 thanks in part to Falcao's play, is in Group C along with Greece, Japan and the Ivory Coast.

The Colombian striker left Atletico Madrid and signed a five-year deal with Monaco in May 2013.