Fernando Torres insisted he is ready to make his mark on the World Cup finals after putting his injury nightmare behind him.
The Liverpool striker, who missed the final crucial weeks of the last Premier League season after undergoing knee surgery, believes he is over his fitness troubles at last.
Nine weeks have passed since he underwent an operation to rectify meniscus damage and now Torres believes he is fully attuned to start a competitive game again.
He is eagerly waiting to see if Vicente del Bosque will unleash him from the start as Spain bid to bounce back from their shock opening defeat against Switzerland when they tackle Honduras in Johannesburg.
But Torres is desperate to get up and running again and has made it clear that he wants to immerse himself in a tournament which he has spent months preparing for.
“I have been training at the same pace as my team mates for two weeks now, putting the injury behind me so that I can be available for the coach,” said Torres.
“We are all ready to take to the pitch and give our all and if I am in the starting 11 then great but if not I will wait for my chance.
“It’s important for us to remain faithful to our playing style, not go mad and change things around too much and trust in what has made us one of the favourites.
“Spain always want possession of the ball and we have to exploit the talents that our players have, beyond any particular system.”
If Torres and Spain have work to do to get into the knockout stages, the same cannot be said for Javier Mascherano and Argentina.
The Argentines have breezed through their group without a problem but if Mascherano thinks a possible move to Inter Milan will go through just as smoothly, he is mistaken.
Contrary to some reports, Liverpool have not stepped aside and allowed Mascherano to head to the San Siro without a fight.
He, after all, has two years left on his contract and – given that he is often billed as the best holding midfielder in the world – Liverpool will want suitably reimbursing.
Meanwhile, Martin Skrtel – whose hopes of progressing in the World Cup were dealt a major blow when Slovakia were beaten by Paraguay – does not believe Rafa Benitez’s departure will have an enormous impact on the dressing room.
As the players have nothing to do with appointing a replacement, Skrtel says it is a case of waiting and seeing who takes over from Benitez; Roy Hodgson remains a long odds-on favourite.
“The management needed to make some changes after they sacked Rafa,” Skrtel said.
“What can we do? Nothing.
“We are only players and we have to wait for the new management.”
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