After a whole two and a half days of waiting with bated breath, the full extent of Fernando Torres’ injury has been revealed.

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The Spanish FA have stated that he has incurred a ‘grade on muscle fibre rupture in the left thigh’. That roughly translates to a slight tear in the groin. Not pleasant but not terminal.

If ‘El Nino’ recovers on schedule then he would be looking to return to action in late August to early September after missing the first three fixtures of the Premier League season.

Whether this means he will miss Liverpool’s matches against Arsenal, Manchester City and West Brom or Chelsea’s dates with the Baggies, Wigan and Stoke is yet to be determined.

With the injury being a grade one tear – the least serious – the Blues might still be interested in signing the Spanish hitman especially as Didier Drogba will miss the start of Chelsea’s Champions League campaign having received a red card during their elimination from Europe against Inter Milan last season.

The groin is a muscle almost as troublesome as the hamstring and you can be sure that Roman Abramovich will consult extensively with the doctors at Cobham before sanctioning a bank-breaking transfer.