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Benitez sweats on Torres, Gerrard and Kuyt injuries
Gerrard and Kuyt are worries as Torres picks up an injury during Spain's win over Armenia
Rafa Benitez has been reassured by his compatriot Vicente del Bosque, the Spanish national team manager, that the Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will not be risked in tomorrow night's game against Bosnia-Herzegovina unless he is fully fit.
Torres limped out of Spain's game against Armenia on Saturday after 54 minutes with an injury to his adductor, the muscle in the top of the leg, a sight that would have had the volatile Benitez cursing the gods. The 25-year-old is Liverpool's greatest goal threat, having scored a phenomenal 46 goals in 64 games.
The Liverpool manager will be upset that Torres was used in Saturday's game, not least as Spain had already qualified for next year's World Cup and because Torres had missed a training session before the 2-1 win in Armenia complaining of pain in the same muscle.
As a former colleague and friend of Benitez's from their days together at Real Madrid, del Bosque has promised to respect the Liverpool man's concerns. Torres has returned from international trips before with injuries - last season an injury while playing for Spain against Belgium saw Torres miss a 2-1 defeat against Spurs which robbed Liverpool of vital momentum during their push for the title.
The Spanish manager told the media yesterday: "Torres is in very good hands here. Rafa Benitez has called me and I reassured him. We will care very much for Torres, like the rest. I told him [Benitez] that we will treat Torres as if he was at Liverpool. If the boy is well and wants to play, he will play against Bosnia. And if he has any problem, he will not play. It's that simple."
The striker is not the only injury worry. After picking up a groin injury during England's drab defeat in the Ukraine, club talisman Steven Gerrard limped out of training today. He has now announced that he is withdrawing from Wednesday's international qualifier against Belarus at Wembley.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, Dirk Kuyt, Benitez's most earnest workhorse, returned from a friendly in Australia with Holland having damaged his ankle. This means that Liverpool could be without three of its most potent attacking talents for the four games in eleven days that will define their season. ·
