FERNANDO TORRES has flown to Spain for a second opinion on the hernia injury that Liverpool fear will require surgery to repair.

Torres has visited a specialist in Valencia to assess his ongoing problem that continues to hamper his game.

Medical staff at Melwood have diagnosed what manager Rafael Benitez detailed as a “sportsman’s hernia” earlier this week.

But with Torres continuing to be troubled by the problem, Liverpool are determined to discover the root cause.

The striker has yet to play a full 90 minutes since suffering the injury while on international duty with Spain a month ago.

His movement was clearly affected during the 1-1 Champions League draw in Lyon on Wednesday night.

Liverpool, though, are desperate for both Torres and skipper Steven Gerrard, whose groin injury has restricted him to playing just 25 minutes of the last games, to avoid the need for an operation.

And Benitez has reiterated that no decision has yet been made over whether either will go under the knife.

“Fernando played with pain, and after the game he still had the same problems that have troubled him for a few weeks,” said the Liverpool manager.