Cautious Liverpool Could Use Fernando Torres In English Premier League Opener Against Arsenal

Though Roy Hodgson and Liverpool have been judicious about easing Fernando Torres back into training, the Reds’ leading scorer could still see a role in next weekend’s Premier League opener against Arsenal.

Torres has just returned to the team following his post-World Cup break. In South Africa, Torres eventually lost his place in Spain’s starting lineup as he struggled to regain form in his return from last season knee surgery.

Now after a nearly a month off, Torres is back training with his club, with his new manager hopeful he’ll get the go ahead from the training staff to give the striker a role against the Gunners:

“He’s only been back a few days and needs to do a lot of work to make sure he recovers from his holiday and the injury he picked up at the World Cup,” Hodgson told reporters at Melwood.

“We won’t risk him (against Rabotnicki) but we are still hopeful that, come the Arsenal game, it won’t be out of the question to use him then - though I do realise the sports science people may tell me it’s still too early.”

He added: “We believe he wasn’t fully fit going into the World Cup and that may have affected his performance and been the cause of the injury he picked up at the end, so we want to be careful this year to make certain that we prepare him - not just for August 15 but for the whole season.”

Torres is coming off a season in which he played in only 22 of Liverpool’s 38 matches, scoring 18 goals. The preceding season, Torres played in only 24 league matches.