RAFAEL BENITEZ has hailed the attitude of Liverpool’s walking wounded – as he admitted there was no target date for the return of Fernando Torres.

Benitez has revealed a number of his squad are currently playing through the pain barrier as they either return form injury or put to one side niggling problems.

The Anfield outfit were forced to dig deep on Sunday when a strong rearguard action ensured a 2-0 win at neighbours Everton.

Steven Gerrard pushed himself through the full 90 minutes for the second time inside a week despite an obvious lack of training in recent weeks due to a groin problem.

Along with the skipper, Glen Johnson, Albert Riera, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio and Yossi Benayoun all featured at Goodison following recent injuries.

And Benitez said: “Gerrard has found it hard. He has played three difficult games in a row without training for three weeks prior, and that is tough.

“People have to understand that some players are trying very hard to help the team when they are not really fit. But they want to play, and their attitude is very positive.

“Now we have a week of training, and I hope we will see a lot more of them fitter for the next game.”

Benitez added: “There are several players who maybe should not be out there at the moment. They are not fully fit, they are not training and they have injuries.

“But we are working so hard together. We are seeing players involved when they should really be on the treatment table.

“But they all wanted to play, to do a job for the team and to work to get us going again as a team.”