Torres could be back next week – surgeon

Fernando Torres could return to action as soon as next week, according to the surgeon treating the Liverpool and Spain striker’s latest knee injury.

Torres missed Sunday’s goalless draw against Fulham, a result that did major damage to the Merseysiders’ hopes of finishing fourth in the table and so securing a place in next season’s Champions League which Spanish manager Rafael Benitez “guaranteed” earlier in the campaign.

The forward, who has travelled to Barcelona for treatment, injured the same knee earlier in the season and there had been speculation Torres might now miss the remainder of Liverpool’s matches this term and even the World Cup.

But Dr Ramon Cugat, who also oversaw Torres’s recovery from recent hamstring trouble, was quoted as saying by Tuesday’s Liverpool Echo: “The problem is not serious but he needs to stop and rest to avoid more risk because it’s the same knee on which he had surgery in January.

“But in normal circumstances, he could be ready to play next week, depending on how it settles down.

“The decision is now up to Liverpool’s medical staff and the manager.”

Liverpool face West Ham on Monday but Benitez may decide to delay the return of Torres, if the goalscorer is fit, until the Europa League semi-final first leg against the striker’s former club, Atletico Madrid, three days later.