Torres blow darkens mood on Anfield

A bad weekend for Liverpool was compounded after their worst fears were realised when striker Fernando Torres was ruled out of the rest of the season.

The Spain international underwent an operation on torn cartilage in his right knee, a similar operation to that which sidelined him for five weeks in January.

Torres had been waiting for three days to fly to Barcelona for a second assessment on the troublesome knee but had been delayed by the closure of British airspace because of the cloud of volcanic dust.

When he did finally make it back to Spain yesterday the consultation with Dr Ramon Cugat did not go well and the decision was immediately taken to operate.

“Fernando saw a specialist in Spain and it was decided he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee,” said a club spokesman.

“The usual rehabilitation period for this type of procedure is around six weeks.”

The news will be a crushing blow for Torres, who was desperate to play against former club Atletico Madrid in this week’s Europa League semi-final after injury forced him to miss their previous meeting in the Champions League last season.

Having fallen further behind in the race for fourth place after Tottenham’s victory over Chelsea and then dropped to seventh spot following Aston Villa’s victory over Portsmouth, Torres’ operation capped a miserable couple of days for manager Rafael Benitez and his squad.

However, with Barclays Premier League strugglers West Ham due at Anfield tonight Benitez has to lift his players for their penultimate home game.

Even four successive wins from now until the end of the season looks increasingly unlikely to help Benitez deliver the “guarantee” of fourth place he made back in December.

Torres’ fitness, or lack of it, has been one of the major factors in Liverpool’s disappointing campaign after early exits from the Champions League and title race.

Without him they have lacked a cutting edge up front and while Benitez has complained about the number of injuries to key players there is no doubt the absence of Torres has hit Liverpool hardest.

“We have had too many injuries this year – not just Fernando, we’ve had seven, nine, 11 players at the same time. It has not been easy,” said the Spaniard.

“It is something you have to analyse carefully and try to do the right things for next year.

“My responsibility now is to prepare for the game against West Ham.”

Torres joins defenders Emiliano Insua, Fabio Aurelio (both thigh), Martin Skrtel (foot) and Martin Kelly (knee) on the sidelines as Liverpool look to get through their remaining games with a backline which is likely to see Daniel Agger play in an unfamiliar left-back position again.

Benitez has backed Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola to guide his side to safety despite a difficult season for the Italian.

“I think they have a great manager and a good team,” said the Liverpool boss.

“It will be tough for teams at the bottom but I think they can stay up.

“West Ham have four games to play and one win should be enough – hopefully it will be next weekend and not today.”