Football Talk - Torres out for the season - 19/04/10
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery. The Spanish international underwent knee surgery in January, but he has been troubled by the problem for a number of weeks.
A Liverpool spokesman said: "It was decided that he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee. This will be carried out later on Sunday and, as a guide, the usual rehabilitation period for this type of procedure is around six weeks."
His fitness will be closely monitored by Spain manager Vicente del Bosque, whose side's opening World Cup game in South Africa is against Switzerland on 16 June. Del Bosque must submit his final 23-man squad to Fifa by 1 June.
Torres, who joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in 2007, will also miss out on meeting his former club in the Europa League semi-finals. The news is a huge blow for Liverpool's chances of claiming a a top-four finish and also winning the Europa League with the first-leg of their semi-final clash against Torres' former club Atletico Madrid taking place on Thursday.
The Spaniard has scored 22 goals in all competitions this season, despite being beset by various injuries.
