By the Daily Manc Mail

Liverpool's hopes of having Fernando Torres fit and firing for the start of the season have been dealt a major blow.

The striker is unlikely to play any part in the Reds' pre-season plans after scans in Spain revealed he had ruptured a thigh muscle in the World Cup final.



The results will be delivered to Liverpool's head of sports medicine Peter Brukner, who had been told the injury was not expected to be serious.

The Spanish FA confirmed that Torres had a magnetic resonance scan on Tuesday at the Cemtro de Madrid Clinic and found evidence of a Grade 1 muscle fibre rupture in his left thigh.
While a grade one tear is the least serious, it still means that Torres has little chance of being match fit for the start of the Barclays Premier League season on August 15.



Liverpool would have hoped to work with a player dogged with injury problems for much of last season and during the World Cup.
However, the injury will also keep Torres's suitors at bay for the time being. Chelsea are pushing hard to sign the 26-year-old and have already tabled a £40million bid, while Barcelona are also keen.
Rock star Noel Gallagher also hinted that Manchester City had not given up on Torres after emerging from a long lunch with Eastlands chief executive Garry Cook.



Liverpool do not want to lose their star striker and new manager Roy Hodgson is determined to convince the former Atletico Madrid man that Anfield is still the place to be.

Torres has great affection for the Reds but wants to see signs that the club are going to improve on the dismal seventh-place finish last season which ensured a season without Champions League football at England's most successful club.

Liverpool seem set to cash in on Javier Mascherano, which will help them resist bids for Torres and captain Steven Gerrard, and Hodgson is looking forward to having his World Cup winner back.

'As Liverpool manager, I take great pride in the fact that two of our players can call themselves World Cup winners this summer,' Hodgson said of Torres and Spain back-up keeper Pepe Reina.

Reds fans have already been encouraged by Torres posing with a Liverpool scarf after the World Cup final, though it remains to be seen whether the gesture is an indication he is staying at the club.



Hodgson said: 'I think it's safe to say the pictures of Fernando in the dressing room with the World Cup certainly went down well with our fans but the club can be proud of all the players who went away to the World Cup.
'To have four players (including Holland's Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel) reach the final is an incredible achievement and I look forward to working with them when they return to Melwood after their holidays.'