Spain coach Vicente del Bosque admits he found it difficult to axe Chelsea striker Fernando Torres from his squad last week.

Del Bosque admitted he left Torres out with a heavy heart.

"He is a lad we appreciate a great deal and it pains me to leave him out, but I wanted to be fair," he told the Independent. "His performances recently have been a bit irregular.

"It is always a problem when a striker is not finding the net, it makes it difficult for them, we see that there is an issue. But there is a lot of time and plenty of chances for him to find his touch before the Euros.

"We have watched Fernando at his new club and we see that he is fighting and that he is enthusiastic. We hope that in the next four months he can start scoring and we will make a decision on his position in the side based on how he does in that time. Things are not going well, but situations can turn around quickly."