Hot property: Liverpool striker Fernando Torres Chelsea will step up their pursuit of Fernando Torres after sensing his latest injury setback could enhance their prospects of prising him away from Anfield.
Tests in Spain confirmed yesterday that Torres had torn a thigh muscle in last Sunday’s World Cup final, and Liverpool’s medical staff will fly out to examine him in the next 48 hours before handing him fitness guidelines for his forthcoming holiday.
Initial estimates of a three-week recovery period left new manager Roy Hodgson pondering whether to try to rush him back for the start of the new season or allow him time to build up his strength and fitness on the training pitch.
It is a dilemma that frequently troubled his predecessor, Rafa Benitez, yet Chelsea aim to present it as one of their main arguments for convincing crock Torres his future lies at Stamford Bridge.
While Liverpool have often restored Torres to their starting line-up at the earliest opportunity — and seen him suffer a recurrence of an old injury — Chelsea will spell out their intention of using him far more sparingly.
Anfield bosses are mindful of the risks involved in bringing him back too soon as they supervise his latest recuperation and have already begun work on his conditioning by drawing up a list of fitness routines for his three-week break.
Equally, they can ill-afford to be without their one world-class finisher any longer than necessary as they strive to banish the memory of last season’s failings by making a positive start to the new Barclays Premier League campaign.
Race against time: Torres looks set to miss the start of the Premier LeagueAnd with that in mind, Liverpool’s new head of sports science and medicine Peter Brukner hinted yesterday Torres could yet make the Premier League opener against Arsenal at Anfield on August 15.
‘The MRI scan confirmed a small tear,’ he said.
‘Fernando should be able to resume training within two to three weeks and be able to play again within three to four weeks.’
There is a feeling Liverpool’s over-reliance on Torres’s goals has added to his mounting frustration, and Chelsea plan to exploit it by stressing he would be under nothing like as much pressure at Stamford Bridge.
With the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka already shouldering the goal-scoring burden, manager Carlo Ancelotti is ready to assure Torres he can count on maximum recovery time in the event of any injury.
Leading the chase: Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti wants to move for TorresWhether Chelsea are willing to match what Liverpool might consider an acceptable fee remains to be seen, and even that hinges on Torres weighing his loyalty and affection for Liverpool against a wish to be surrounded by players of comparable quality.
Liverpool insist any approach will be rebuffed but are ready, reluctantly, to soften their stance, should their £21million record signing ask to leave.
As he starts yet another battle with injury, talking him out of an exit looks like presenting Hodgson with a formidable early challenge, even if a fee in excess of £50m would be ploughed back into his transfer budget and arm him with sizeable funds for reinforcements.
Hodgson flew out to a training camp in Switzerland with a shadow Liverpool squad, after receiving confirmation from the Spanish FA that a magnetic resonance scan in Madrid had shown up a relatively minor grade one rupture to Torres’ left thigh.
source: dailymail
