Liverpool FC Forum

[KennyisGod....still]

i dont actually understand why it wernt sorted when he had th other op - not as tho it hadnt been mentioned. cant blame th lad for havin th op now tho with th world cup round th corner.

[LFC2007]

It's a no brainer for Rafa. 4th is out the window and the Europa is all there is left to play for, but we should cope well enough in that without Torres, hopefully. So Benitez is left in a delema over the player who is obviously wanting to play in the World Cup and has ambition to do well for his country. So, does he deny Fernando his op and risk his relations with the player should the knee worsen, causing him to miss the World Cup? Or does he let the lad get his op in mind that he recovers for it and hopefully has him ready for the coming season? IMO, he was always going to go with the latter. I mentioned it a few days ago somewhere that he'll either be rested or go for an operation in a dispute, but as usual I'm talking sh*te, eh?

I don't think there was any 'deciding' to do, mate. If his cartilage is torn then they really had to operate.

[tonyeh]

Not happy he is injured but if he needs the op then so be it.

On a side note to all the .s that were implying Rafa was 'faking' his injury the other day well do you still think so? Tonyeh?

Yeah that's what I thought.

No. What I said was if he's not injured then Benitez should be playing him in league fixtures as well as Euro games.

And if he is injured he shouldn't have been playing in any.

It's true, Benitez can't win on this one with me, as somebody said.

Besides, one day we hear the specialist say he's fit to play this week and then he has to have an op?

WTF IS actually going on is anyone's guess.

[tubby]

My guess is the lad is just injury prone. He is class but we cannot rely on him for the whole season. Getting in another established striker must be a priority.

[zarababe]

Oh that is the worst news - can this season get any worse - oh what a downer  f'..f'...f'

[zarababe]

Amidst the doom and gloom - you've made me laff doll - that's great 

[Zidane]

Torres looks like he might just be another Michael Owen, the only good thing is his injuries aren't as severe, but man he is getting hurt constantly.  I think we need to change the way we use him to avoid things like this, we really need to start using two strikers or this is going to be an ongoing theme for some time.  He can't be constantly sprinting and stopping the way he does in games.

[LFC2007]

Incidentally, this confirms that he really was injured and definitely couldn't have played against Fulham. Those who said Rafa was simply saving him for a Europa League fixture two weeks later in order to "boulster his own CV" called it completely wrong. We knew his knee was swollen because the sporting director of the Spanish FA - who spoke with Torres - said so, and obviously with the knowledge that this is the same knee that underwent surgery back in Jan, the medical staff and then the specialist must have recognised the possibility of a recurrence.

[roberto green]

And....

"Rafa put something down the volcano to make it go off"       

Sorry Roberto lad - you just made me spew out me digestive mate! 

and of course it was tongue n cheek just in case people think im having a go at Rafa.I bet some people are bloated off the large slice of humble pie they are eating after having a go when rafa took fernando off in the Birmingham game

[Emerald Red]

It's a no brainer for Rafa. 4th is out the window and the Europa is all there is left to play for, but we should cope well enough in that without Torres, hopefully. So Benitez is left in a delema over the player who is obviously wanting to play in the World Cup and has ambition to do well for his country. So, does he deny Fernando his op and risk his relations with the player should the knee worsen, causing him to miss the World Cup? Or does he let the lad get his op in mind that he recovers for it and hopefully has him ready for the coming season? IMO, he was always going to go with the latter. I mentioned it a few days ago somewhere that he'll either be rested or go for an operation in a dispute, but as usual I'm talking sh*te, eh?

I don't think there was any 'deciding' to do, mate. If his cartilage is torn then they really had to operate.

My guess is that it might not have been as severe as that. It could be a niggling issue, a painful one, that hindered his mobility and could potentially gotten worse if left untreated.

[Gerrard30391]

At least he's not "in the shop window", or gonna be fully fit for the WC, look on the bright side eh?

[tonyeh]

Incidentally, this confirms that he really was injured and definitely couldn't have played against Fulham. Those who said Rafa was simply saving him for a Europa League fixture two weeks later in order to "boulster his own CV" called it completely wrong. We knew his knee was swollen because the sporting director of the Spanish FA - who spoke with Torres - said so, and obviously with the knowledge that this is the same knee that underwent surgery back in Jan, the medical staff and then the specialist must have recognised the possibility of a recurrence.

Then why was he played for 85 minutes against Benfica on the Thursday before?

You can't have both ways.

[7_Kewell]

from an liverpool (and England) point of view it will be best that he misses the World Cup. It will give the lad a long rest and he'll be fit and fresh for pre-season. It's a blow, but i'm not surprised.

This has been an awful season and we've been short of a striker ever since Keane was sold

[LFC2007]

Incidentally, this confirms that he really was injured and definitely couldn't have played against Fulham. Those who said Rafa was simply saving him for a Europa League fixture two weeks later in order to "boulster his own CV" called it completely wrong. We knew his knee was swollen because the sporting director of the Spanish FA - who spoke with Torres - said so, and obviously with the knowledge that this is the same knee that underwent surgery back in Jan, the medical staff and then the specialist must have recognised the possibility of a recurrence.

Then why was he played for 85 minutes against Benfica on the Thursday before?

You can't have both ways.

I didn't say he should have played 85 minutes against Benfica. I said perhaps he shouldn't have played for as long as he did if they (medical staff/manager) were aware of the problem. Obviously if it looked as bad before the game as it did after they wouldn't have started him.

[bigmick]

Hopefully the lad recovers quickly enough to represent his country in the World Cup fully fit, he deserves that much at least. As for us, I've thought for a while now that we ought to give Babel a shot, and now is certainly a good opportunity. Yes I know he's a doughnut and he does our fecking head in at times, but I'm absolutely convinced that not only is he better than N'Gog, but he does actually have something.

The goal he scored in France in the Champions League wasn't a fluke, there is explosive talent there and if we can only harness it, he could be a player. At the very least it'll get him fit for the World Cup where if he gets a game it might stick a couple of mill' on his transfer fee.

What's our options? N'Gog, Kuyt or Babel. My preference would be to go for Babel, and feck it play Aquilani in behind and drop Gerrard to central midfield. Might as well kill two birds with one stone and see exactly what we've got on our hands for next season.