Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he will not take any unnecessary risks over the fitness of striker Diego Costa.
The Blues will win the English Premier League with three games to spare if they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday and the Portuguese believes the mission can be accomplished without the Spain international.
"Diego [Costa] is out," Mourinho said on Friday.
"He hasn't suffered a setback; it just isn't worth the risk. In the last month if we lost a game, and we didn't want to lose the second, he would be back immediately.
"But because the results in the last month were always victories, or a draw against the second team, we don't need to rush.
"We are trying to give him the maximum stability for him to be stronger and stronger. There is no need to take any risk.
"There is a chance he might not play again this season.
"If we win on Sunday, I would say he doesn't play against Liverpool. If we don't win on Sunday, I would say he plays against Liverpool. At the moment we are going result after result, and if we don't need, probably he doesn't play again.
"I wouldn't say he needs a long break; he needs a good period of work. We are preparing a good working situation for him during the holiday period where he can mix holiday with work with our people."
