Torres pulls out of Spain squad

CZECH REPUBLIC v SCOTLAND
Venue: Synot Tip Arena, Prague Date: Friday, 8 October Kick-off: 1915 BST Coverage: Live on BBC One Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Sport website

Torres injured his adductor muscle in the World Cup final in July

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has pulled out of Spain's squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania and Scotland.

The decision follows the 26-year-old's withdrawal with a groin strain just 10 minutes into Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Blackpool on Sunday.

The extent of the injury has yet to be confirmed by Liverpool.

"We had no awareness there were any problems in the groin area," said Reds manager Roy Hodgson.

"It happened early in the game, which came as a surprise to us.

"I don't know if it happened during the course of the game when he stretched for the ball. I don't really know."

Barcelona forward Pedro and the Sevilla winger Jesus Navas have also dropped out of the Spain squad for the Group I games, leading coach Vicente del Bosque to call up four replacements.

In-form Primera Division pacesetters Valencia have provided two of the newcomers, striker Aritz Aduriz and winger Pablo Hernandez, with the other two coming from second-placed Villarreal - playmaker Borja Valero and his fellow midfielder, Bruno Soriano.

Spain, the reigning world and European champions, play Lithuania in Salamanca on Friday before travelling to Glasgow to take on the Scots four days later.

606: DEBATE How important is Torres to Liverpool and Spain?

Torres only recently returned to action for his club following a groin strain picked up in the World Cup final against the Netherlands in July.

The former Atletico Madrid player has yet to find form this term following a stop-start season last year that saw him overcome both a groin injury and knee surgery.

Torres, who joined Liverpool in 2007, still finished top scorer with 22 goals last season despite being restricted to 32 appearances in all competitions.

His withdrawal from the Spain side to face Lithuania on 8 October and Scotland on 12 October may come as a relief to his club manager, however.

Hodgson appealed to Spain coach Vicente del Bosque not to call up the striker for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechtenstein and a friendly in Argentina at the beginning of September.

Torres did feature in the match against Liechtenstein scoring twice in a 4-0 win.

But the striker has only found the back of the net once for his club this term and Hodgson will be eager to see him return to form.

Liverpool sit in 18th place in the Premier League table after making their worst start to a season for 57 years.

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