Euro 2016 Spain squad: Diego Costa and Juan Mata left out of Vicente del Bosque's preliminary squad for Euro 2016

Vicente del Bosque has named his preliminary squad for Euro 2016             (Getty)

Del Bosque has announced his 25-man preliminary squad for Spain's European Championship defence with som enotable absentees.

Costa endured a difficult start to the season with Chelsea, scoring just three league goals before Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, though he showed a marked improvement under Guus Hiddink which led to fans criticising him for not playing hard enough under Mourinho.

Diego Costa has been left out of Spain's preliminary 25-man squad for Euro 2016 (Getty)

The 27-year-old missed the last two matches of the season due to a recurrence of a hamstring injury that has hindered him this season, and Del Bosque has elected to leave him out of his squad for the international friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Korea and Georgia, with two players set to be culled to decide Del Bosque’s final squad.

In place of Costa is 35-year-old Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, who has made just three international appearances since making his debut in 2010. The former Valencia striker has netted 20 goals in La Liga this season and also scored on his return to the Spain squad in the 1-1 draw with Italy in March, and his inclusion means there is also no space for former Chelsea forward Fernando Torres despite his recent up-turn in form to help Atletico Madrid reach the Champions League final.

Another casualty is Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, with the likes of David Silva, Cesc Fabregas and Isco preferred. With three goalkeepers and just seven defenders named in the squad, the two players to miss out on the final squad could well both come from the pool of 10 midfielders.

Juan Mata was left out of the Spain squad for the Euros                  (Getty)

Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla is another to miss out following his lengthy absence with a knee injury, while Bayern Munich’s Javi Martinez has been overlooked with Mikel San Jose preferred to provide cover for the defence as well as the holding midfield role.

Cazorla and Costa’s absence means that the squad has five representatives from the Premier League, with Silva and Fabregas joined by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta and Pedro.

Spain’s preliminary 25-man Euro 2016 squad:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David De Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)

Defenders: Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Marc Bartra (all Barcelona), Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal (both Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta (both Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Koke, Saul Niguez (both Atletico Madrid), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Isco (Real Madrid), Bruno Soriano (Villarreal)

Forwards: Pedro Rodriguez (Chelsea), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)