Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will not be fit to play in his side's Champions League match against Besiktas in Istanbul.
The Spanish forward, the Reds' record signing over the summer, suffered a thigh strain on international duty last week and failed to recover in time to play in the Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday.
Manager Rafael Benitez bought Torres from Atletico Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of £24 million and he has made a good start to his Anfield career, scoring seven goals in his first 12 games.
However he has yet to net for Liverpool in European competition and Benitez is keen to kick-start their winless Champions League group stage campaign in Turkey.
"It's clear we need to go to Istanbul and try to win," Benitez told the club's official website.
"If we don't do that we know it will be difficult for us but all we are thinking about is the three points. The players know how important it is for us to win this game."
Liverpool recorded an impressive 1-1 draw in their opening match in Porto but slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to French side Marseilles in week two.
And Benitez continued: "Porto are a good team and we know our first half performance wasn't good against them, but to get a draw when we went down to ten men wasn't bad.
"We made a mistake in our next game against Marseille which was a bad night for us. We need to repair that mistake against Besiktas."
The Spanish forward, the Reds' record signing over the summer, suffered a thigh strain on international duty last week and failed to recover in time to play in the Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday.
Manager Rafael Benitez bought Torres from Atletico Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of £24 million and he has made a good start to his Anfield career, scoring seven goals in his first 12 games.
However he has yet to net for Liverpool in European competition and Benitez is keen to kick-start their winless Champions League group stage campaign in Turkey.
"It's clear we need to go to Istanbul and try to win," Benitez told the club's official website.
"If we don't do that we know it will be difficult for us but all we are thinking about is the three points. The players know how important it is for us to win this game."
Liverpool recorded an impressive 1-1 draw in their opening match in Porto but slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to French side Marseilles in week two.
And Benitez continued: "Porto are a good team and we know our first half performance wasn't good against them, but to get a draw when we went down to ten men wasn't bad.
"We made a mistake in our next game against Marseille which was a bad night for us. We need to repair that mistake against Besiktas."
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