Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson reckons the club can now reap the benefits of using Fernando Torres sparingly as he recovered from knee surgery. Torres returned to Merseyside this season carrying a groin injury suffered in Spain's World Cup triumph over Holland.
But the 26 year old striker is approaching peak condition and the Reds boss is predicting big things, beginning against the Birmingham on Sunday.
"It's a good sign," Hodgson told The Liverpool Echo. "He's a goalscorer, he's a quality player and is someone we were desperate to keep at the club because if you are going to have a good season, you are going to need players like him.
"It's going to take him a bit more time to get over the injury he had before the World Cup and the one he sustained in the final but he is working very, very hard and he has a good relationship with the Sports Science department. I trust them to together to do what is right for him."
Hodgson expressed his relief that Torres, who scored a brace for Spain in their Euro 2012 qualifier last Friday, was an unused substitute in the World champions' friendly defeat to Argentina.
"They explained it wasn't possible for him to skip the trip. If he'd done that then a lot of other big name players, like Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas might have wanted to skip it as well," he added.
"Through fairness they felt obliged to take everybody, but the fact he played no part in the game hopefully means he will come back in good shape and be able to work with us instead.
"I spoke to the coach, Vicente del Bosque through Fernando Hierro and luckily they listened to my plea not to over play him."
