Liverpool’s injury list in double figures as Fernando Torres faces hernia surgery Nov 03, 2009

Fernando Torres will this morning board Liverpool’s flight for their crucial Champions League tie in Lyon tomorrow nursing a hernia that has plagued the Spaniard for several weeks and may yet require surgery. With Steven Gerrard a confirmed absentee and also under threat of an operation that would keep him out for almost a month, the problems for a besieged Rafael Benítez appear unrelenting.

Both Torres and Gerrard were initially believed to have suffered adductor strains during last month’s World Cup qualifiers for Spain and England respectively. However, it has now emerged that Torres’s problem is a hernia that has prevented the striker training between games and explains Benítez’s awkward dilemma over how best to utilise his compatriot with Liverpool’s Champions League and title prospects on the line.

Club doctors have informed Benítez that Torres’s and Gerrard’s injuries may be cured with rest, with a window of opportunity appearing in the international break that follows Liverpool’s game with Birmingham City at Anfield next Monday night. But surgery is the only alternative if their problems persist and, mindful of taking advantage of the impending internationals, Benítez has delayed that decision until the end of this week.

In the meantime Liverpool will again attempt to nurse Torres through tomorrow’s European tie at Stade de Gerland, where a seventh defeat in eight games, coupled with a Fiorentina victory at home to Debrecen, would leave the Anfield club a mountainous task to progress from Group E. Gerrard will be missing with his groin injury, an omission that may increase the temptation for surgery, as are Martin Skrtel (muscle), Albert Riera (hamstring), Martin Kelly (ankle) and Philipp Degen, who was omitted from the Champions League squad list at the start of the tournament.

“We are trying to manage because he [Torres] was close to having an operation,” said Benítez yesterday, although the prospect of going under the knife remains. The Liverpool manager, angered by criticism of his decision to withdraw Torres after 63 minutes of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Fulham, added: “Still this morning, two days after the game, he is feeling something. He is not comfortable. He has not got the power he had before, so we have to manage and try to protect him. He cannot play well if you keep pushing him. Maybe if you push him he will be injured for a long time.

“So I am really surprised with the critics. When you talk about big names, people just analyse the names and not how the player is when he is on the pitch. He was not 100% fit. We have to take Fernando to Lyon because we don’t have too many options. We have to keep working with him and the rest of the players.”

Benítez’s selection problems are not limited to the five players who will be left behind on Merseyside today. Of the travelling party, seven have doubts over their fitness for Lyon. Torres heads the doubtful list, although he is aiming to repeat his contributions against Manchester United and Fulham, and Glen Johnson (calf), Daniel Agger (back), Fábio Aurélio (calf) and David Ngog (ankle) will all undergo late fitness tests. The £20m summer signing Alberto Aquilani and reserve goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri may have to be involved despite missing the defeat at Craven Cottage with viruses.

“Aquilani trained today but was a little bit weak,” said Benítez. “Hopefully in two days’ time he will be better. Gerrard won’t travel to Lyon. He has no chance. He is improving but we have to wait. He has had an injection but we have to wait two or three days and see how he reacts. Johnson is training and working with the physios but he is a doubt at this moment. He will travel to Lyon and we will see.”

José Reina, meanwhile, has demonstrated his support for Benítez by confirming he intends to extend his Liverpool contract in the belief the manager can end the club’s exhaustive wait for a 19th league championship. “My aim is to get a new contract in the future and I want to be here for many years. Apparently the club wants the same,” said Reina, who is under contract until 2012 but will be offered an extension in the coming months.

“I have every reason to stay longer and of course I will. Titles are what we are all here for. As a Liverpool player you have to have these ambitions. Trophies are the most important thing, and the most important one is probably the Premier League. Rafa Benítez is building something special here. He proved that when he came here – the club was one thing and now it’s something totally different. We have grown up and we can still grow up a little bit more. It’s not even close to being over.”