Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Torres A Doubt For Arsenal Clash

Fernando Torres looks likely to miss the start of the season as Liverpool look to the long term in protecting his fitness.

The Spanish striker was back in training yesterday, after enjoying his first holiday in three years, following his World Cup triumph with his country.

But after picking up a groin injury in training in the final against Holland, the centre forward is not yet ready to complete a full training session.

On Monday, he was restricted to some light running and gym work, and even though the injury is now almost fully cleared, the club will resist the urge to rush him back, and instead take sensible precautions to ensure his long term health.

Torres will take no part in Thursday Europa League qualifier against Rabotnicki, and is unlikely to be included in full contact sessions until the start of next week.

That means he would have no warm-up games before next Sunday's Premier League opener against Arsenal - and little or no chance of starting in that match.

Instead, Torres is likely to be given a run out in a training ground contest and then aimed at a gentle introduction into the first team - quite possibly in Liverpool's next Europa League game on August 19.

Manager Roy Hodgson has been extremely careful in ensuring that his players who performed in the latter stages of the World Cup are given adequate rest to avoid burn out later in the season.

Torres has suffered several serious injury setbacks over the past two years, after missing a summer break because of international commitments with Spain.

The groin injury he picked up was not a serious one, but he still required at least three weeks of rest, and club doctors will be cautious about returning him to full contact sessions.

Hodgson is confident the striker will be part of his plans this season, and he wants him to play far more games during the campaign than he did last year, when he managed to last the full 90 minutes for a mere 14 matches.

The new manager has protected all his World Cup players, and gave the England international members of his squad a break when he took his side to Macedonia for last week's first leg against Rabotnicki.

The likes of Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher will play in the return on Thursday night, because it is Liverpool's last game before the opening weekend clash against Arsenal.

But Torres will be eased back in gently, as the manager looks to protect him from the ravages of injury that forced him to miss the final two months of last season and decimated his World Cup campaign.

Hodgson held more talks with the player yesterday, specifically over his fitness program, but also about his long term commitment to the club.

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