Fernando Torres, the Liverpool forward, has travelled to Spain to see a specialist in an attempt to ascertain whether the groin injury that has troubled him for the past month requires surgery.

The Spain player took a flight from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Valencia yesterday afternoon as concern grew that he will need an operation despite his club’s best efforts to nurse him through the injury.

Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has confirmed that Torres is suffering from a sports hernia, a problem that was sustained while the 25-year-old was on international duty with Spain last month.

Having picked up the injury, Torres missed Liverpool’s matches against Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League on October 17 and Lyons in the Champions League three days later. Since then he has been substituted in each of his club’s past three matches as Benítez has attempted to stop the problem becoming more severe.

But Torres struggled visibly during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw in Lyons on Wednesday night, looking some way short of his trademark blistering pace, and he revealed to Benítez after the match that the pain being caused by the injury had affected his performance.

The Liverpool manager will be hoping that the prognosis on his record £20.2 million signing is good because he is also waiting to discover whether Steven Gerrard, the captain, will need to go under the knife to cure his groin problem.

“Fernando played with pain and after the game he still had the same problems that have troubled him for a few weeks,” Benítez said. “He wants to wait, rather than have an operation. He wants to work with the physios to try to solve his problems, but still he has pain. He told me he needed to keep stopping during the game because of the pain.

“Whether there is the need for him or Steven to have an operation is a decision we will probably not take straightaway. We must see how they can improve, and by how much. Then we will decide about any possible operation.”

Should surgery be deemed to be the best way forward for either player, or both, Liverpool are likely to take the opportunity to have any medical procedures carried out during the forthcoming international break.