Liverpool are bracing themselves for yet more
devastating news as Fernando Torres yesterday began his bid to
avoid surgery on his abdominal injury.
The Anfield striker is faced with a three week stint of
treatment and therapy to overcome the pain and restriction of the
'sportsman's hernia', which he has endured for the past month.
Boss Rafa Benitez is still hopeful the treatment will be a
successful way of negating the need for an operation, which would
sideline Torres for at least a month, and could require up to three
months on the injured list.
But there was a resignation within Anfield yesterday that the
rest cure will mean the striker now looks set to miss not only the
huge Premier League showdown with Manchester City and crucial
Champions' League trip to Debrecen, but also possibly the
Merseyside derby in three weeks' time.<!-- begin ad tag-->
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Liverpool were hoping that Torres could play against Birmingham
last Monday night and then begin his treatment programme, but the
Spanish forward complained of feeling discomfort, and was forced to
rest.
This week though, he has been able, belatedly, to begin the
rehabilitation plan which experts have suggested might cure the
problem, which is a tear where the abdominal muscles meet the pubic
bone.
Benitez is praying that Torres might reduce the treatment time
to just over a fortnight, but that would now still make him touch
and go for the Everton game, which is on November 28.
The manager though, remains hopeful that the rehabilitation will
be quicker than expected, and allow the player to avoid
surgery.
"With Fernando Torres we are now talking about two or three
weeks of treatment and working with the physios," he explained.
"Hopefully he can be running in a few days and we will see how
he progresses."
Benitez has become increasingly concerned about the injury woes
that have struck his side this season, with the low point coming in
Lyon when he travelled without 14 members of his first team
squad.
He has called summit meetings with the club's medical staff to
see if there is anything he can do to reduce the number of
injuries.
The Spanish coach is concerned that many of his players, such as
Torres, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Yossi Benayoun have
suffered muscle injuries, and now he will conduct a far-reaching
enquiry to see if training or treatment methods are contributing to
the problem.