Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will undergo surgery tonight to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The recovery time is estimated around six weeks if there are no complications during surgery or rehabilitation. This means the Spaniard will miss the rest of the Premier League and Europa League season and not will return until Spain’s June 3 warm-up with South Korea at the earliest.
In a statement release to Liverpool’s official website a team spokesman said, “Fernando saw a specialist in Spain earlier today and it was decided that he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee. This will be carried out later tonight.
Torres has been battling injury all season, featuring in only 20 Premier League matches for the Reds. The news comes just days after Liverpool announced the prognosis on Torres knee was positive and would probably start against his boyhood club Athletico Madrid in Wednesday’s Europa League semi-final.
Torres’ absence effectively ends Liverpool’s slim hopes for a fourth place finish and a Europa League title looks far more unlikely without their leading scorer. Fortunately for Spanish fans Spain’s first match does not come until June 16, five days after the kickoff in Johannesburg, so Torres will have more time to recover if there are any setbacks in rehabilitation.
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