- Premier League
Torres denies putting country before club

Fernando Torres has rubbished suggestions that he put his country ahead of his club by taking the decision to have knee surgery on Sunday.
Torres has been ruled out for the rest of the season as far as Liverpool are concerned by the operation on a torn cartilage in his right knee, but he still hopes to be fit for Spain's World Cup bid in South Africa.
Liverpool's main man, who has scored 18 league goals in an injury-interrupted campaign, misses a homecoming at Atletico Madrid as part of his rehabilitation, and he points to that game as proof that he did not take the decision to have surgery lightly.
"We explored all our possibilities before deciding upon an operation. The meniscus was affected and the doctors thought surgery was best," Torres said on the official Liverpool website.
"The injury occurred in the second minute of the Benfica match at Anfield. I played 85 minutes with an injured knee and if I had been thinking about the World Cup, I would have asked to be substituted right there and then.
"I would have loved to return to Atleti and come face to face with the fans again, but I will have many more opportunities in the future."
Commenting specifically on the World Cup, Torres added: "I have been waiting four years for this and, if all goes well, I do not anticipate missing it. I have already begun recovery work today."
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