Cash-strapped Liverpool fret over their superstars

The news does not get any better for under-pressure Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. Not only has he no money to spend in the January transfer window, there are also clouds over his two talismans, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, along with summer signing Alberto Aquilani.

Torres is reportedly under increasing pressure from Spain to have surgery on a hernia problem before the end of the season, to ensure he is fully fit for the World Cup.

At the moment the striker is resting between games, and although Benitez says Torres can "continue to manage the injury through" he is unable to operate at his peak.

Torres is a key part of the Spanish side and will have to decide if he should go under the knife to help his country's bid to win the World Cup according to the Telegraph. But with Liverpool in eighth place in the table and in even worse form than Portsmouth - the bottom-of-the-table club who beat them on Saturday - losing Torres is almost unthinkable for the Reds.

Another worry is Steven Gerrard who has been having pain-killing injections on a long-standing groin injury and has also been off the pace in recent weeks.

Then there is Alberto Aquilani, who reportedly travelled to Belgrade to see 'placenta doctor' Marijana Kovacevic. Earlier in the season she made the headlines when she, unsuccessfully, treated Arsenal's Robin van Persie with fluid from a placenta after he damaged ankle ligaments.

Aquilani has a calf problem, but with Javier Mascherano out over Christmas with a knee injury the time has come for Bentiez's big summer signing to make his mark at Anfield. So far he has played just 45 minutes in the Premier League.

To make matters worse for Benitez he cannot offset his troubles by buying during the transfer window, unless he sells first.

The club has had to tighten its belt in an effort to reduce the £310m of debt that Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have laid on it. Benitez is expected to try and offload Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin, Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen in January to raise funds. ·