Alvaro Morata admits he made a mistake by trying to play through the pain barrier at Chelsea this season.

Morata, who scored seven times in his first eight appearances after joining Chelsea from Real Madrid for a club record £58m last summer, has struggled for form since injuring his back in December.

The Spain international carried on playing despite being in discomfort and went 13 matches without a goal before finding the net against Leicester City in the FA Cup last month.

It is understood he went to see a specialist in Germany earlier this year to help cure the problem. But the striker, who also scored in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Spurs on Easter Sunday, feels he should have taken a break to make a quicker recovery.

He said: “Everything was good until I had the problems with my back. I played with a lot of pain and it probably would have been better if I’d stopped.

“But I wanted to play with my team-mates, for the club and the fans. Now it’s in the past.

“My first year could have been better, but there are still more games to go and we have a chance to win the FA Cup.”

There has been a lot of speculation over whether Morata is happy in the capital. But he added on Chelsea TV: “It is a pleasure.

“The dressing room is very good, there are a lot of very good people. Everyone has helped me to improve and adapt.

“If I want to know about a restaurant or something, I ask my team-mates. Davide Zappacosta brings me to the training ground. I have a very good relationship with all my team-mates. I think it’s very good.”