Liverpool are hinting that Fernando Torres will be back in action before the turn of the year, with Assistant boss Sammy Lee attempting to play cagey by “not giving any clues” as to whether the striker will be unleashed against Bolton on Boxing Day…
Torres has been sidelined for a month after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury but he has stepped up his rehabilitation of late and Lee has confirmed that he is back in full training…
“I don’t want to give any clues as to when he will be back, but his rehab is going well. We will know when he is ready and 100% to go back into the football team.” Well if you don’t Sammy, then nobody does.
Rafa’s side have had trouble breaking sides down of late and the genius of Torres up front has been badly missed. I can’t quite see him being in a position to start against Bolton but he could be on the bench and in line for a start at Newcastle two days later.
The return of Torres could have some major implications on the Liverpool lineup and shape. Gerrard has been employed the striker (Kuyt or Keane) of late and his fantasy returns have received a significant boost as a result. Should Torres make his return over Christmas, we could see Rafa experiment with a Keane/Torres pairing once again, forcing Gerrard into a more withdrawn role and putting the starts for Alonso and Mascherano under threat. As we know by now, second guessing Rafa is an almost impossible task.