There is some mixed news for Liverpool fans who will be relieved to know that Fernando Torres beleives he will not need an operation for a hernia injury.

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Torres is suffering from a muscle contracture, typically referred to as a muscle spasm, in the groin. The injury does not normally require surgery but is nevertheless painful and restrictive to a player`s mobility – and while it does mean that Torres will not need to face as long on the sidelines that an operation would have required, he will not be fully fit for Liverpool`s vital Champions League encounter this week will need to be rested over the international break.

Torres has struggled with the injury through Liverpool`s last two fixtures but it was agreed with the club`s medical and technical staff that he could play a role in the key clashes with United and Fulham as long as he did not play both games in their entirety. Consequently, while he has travelled to France for Liverpool’s crucial Champions League match against Lyon, Torres is unlikely to play for ninety minutes. 

With a break for international football due in the next fortnight, Liverpool will urge the national coach, Vicente del Bosque, to excuse the Spanish striker from international duty. It is hoped that if Torres is given a full two weeks to recuperate, it is hoped that he may return from the international break close to full fitness.

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Some clarification is needed over various terms hat have been used to describe Fernando Torres` injury and how it has been labelled in various media. It`s a classic example of how something gets lost in translation. The Spanish speakers involved have been talking about Torres suffering from a contractura of the abductor – which, as we reported above, is a groin injury. This injury in English is termed an Athletic Pubalgia, but is often popularly referred to as a sports hernia. However, this injury is not actually a hernia and is a bit of a misnomer. Unfortunately, the story was picked up by other sources and subsequently reported that Torres has a hernia – which led to an assumption that he would be sidelined for several months. It also explains why the player did not believe he was suffering from a hernia, but from a groin injury.