Spain’s Football Federation has confirmed that Fernando Torres ruptured a muscle in his left thigh during the World Cup final and is a huge doubt for the start of Liverpool’s season (12/1 Premier League outright).
The 26-year-old hitman has had a dreadful run of luck with injuries over the past 12 months, with his domestic season at Anfield constantly interrupted by problems.
Torres struggled to make the Spain squad for the World Cup because of injuries to his right knee but managed to feature in all of his country’s matches.
However, the former Atletico Madrid forward didn’t look fit and constantly seemed off the pace as he struggled to get into the games.
He was eventually dropped from Vicente del Bosque’s starting XI, with Barcelona’s Pedro taking his place in the semi-final and final.
Torres did come off the bench in both matches against Germany and Holland but failed to make a telling impact.
His showing against the Dutch in Sunday’s final was cut short when he pulled up with the thigh problem just minutes before the end of the game.
Torres’ injury didn’t hinder the Spanish who went on to claim their first ever World Cup thanks to Andres Iniesta’s goal.
The Liverpool striker has since returned to Spain and undergone a scan which has revealed a problem with his left thigh.
A statement on the SFF’s website confirmed Torres had a magnetic resonance scan at the Cemtro de Madrid Clinic and evidence was found of “a Grade 1 muscle fibre rupture in the left thigh”.
While a grade one tear is the least serious type of rupture it still means Torres (11/2 Premier League top scorer) has little chance of recovering in time for the start of the new season.
While the injury isn’t the news new manager Roy Hodgson had wanted to hear it could mean that clubs who were thinking about making a bid for the striker may be put off from doing so.
The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked with Torres, who is thought to have become disillusioned with life.
However, after Spain’s victory on Sunday Torres was seen celebrating while wearing a Liverpool scarf, a picture which has given everyone hope he will stay on Merseyside according to Hodgson.
“As Liverpool manager, I take great pride in the fact that two of our players can call themselves World Cup winners this summer,” said Hodgson.
“I think it’s safe to say the pictures of Fernando in the dressing room with the World Cup certainly went down well with our fans, but the club can be proud of all the players who went away to the World Cup.”
Torres’ injury means Liverpool look certain to kick off the campaign against Arsenal (7/4 – 90 minutes) without their star name as they look to improve to stay connected to the rest of the big four.
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Spain have been left sweating over the fitness of Andres Iniesta after he was forced off with a muscle injury during the European champions’ (4/1 to win the World Cup) 6-0 warm-up win over Poland.