Torres Out For Six Weeks, Possibly Out Of Merseyside As Well

Fernando Torres will miss the rest of Liverpool's season and may miss a portion of Spain's World Cup training because of a right knee injury. He was scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday evening in Spain. Torres previously had surgery in January to repair torn cartilage in the same knee.

Originally, the problem was deemed minor by a Spanish surgeon. However, Torres may have re aggravated the injury as he did not play in Liverpool's match against Fulham.

In a few weeks, Liverpool are slated to take on Chelsea. The tie is one that many fans believe will be hotly contested, especially with Liverpool chasing Aston Villa for a Europa League spot and Chelsea battling Manchester United for the title. Without Torres, Liverpool will surely lose some of their sting. Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel, and David N'Gog will try their best to replace "El Nino," who has netted 18 times in 20 Premier League starts.

Currently in 7th place, Liverpool have had a dismal season after finishing runners up in the league last campaign. The departures of Xabi Alonso, Sami Hyypia and Alvaro Arbeloa exposed the Reds' weaknesses and they've struggled all season as a result.

Should Liverpool miss out on a Europa League spot, it may spell the end of Torres' time at the Kop. Throughout the season, he has urged Liverpool management to delve into their pockets to sign big names in the summer transfer window and threatened to leave if his demands were not met. Torres eventually stated he'd stay at Liverpool, but a top six finish was a more likely possibility at the time. Should his request go unmet and Liverpool miss out on European competition, he may decide to leave Merseyside, as he originally stated.