Torres is broken?

The agent of Harry Kewell, whose time at Liverpool was ruined by injury, has criticised the club's doctors, and speculated that their treatment of Fernando Torres is partially responsible for the Spanish striker's ongoing injury troubles - leading to Rafa Benitez looking for outside help.

Kewell, now playing for Galatasaray, flies back to Australia for treatment - and Mandic says Benitez, Liverpool's manager, has enquired about the possibility of Torres following suit.

"The reason he gets treated out here now is because we have the best medical staff in the world," Mandic told The Guardian. "He lost three and a half years of his career at Liverpool because the guys over there in England had, quite literally, no idea what they were talking about. You have to wonder what they're doing over there. Perhaps they're trying to protect their reputations, but they're certainly not trying to protect their players.

"I think it's a disgrace, as I think it was a disgrace the way Harry was treated. What goes around comes around, and people are now wondering, 'How has he recovered like that?' when everyone in England thought he was a broken toy."

Kewell shone at Leeds United before completing a move to Liverpool in 2003, but his five years at Anfield were injury ravaged. He was even forced off with the club trailing in the 2005 Uefa Champions League final, before the Reds completed a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat AC Milan and win the competition for the fifth time.

• Liverpool FC finally secure move away from Anfield...to an office block
• Rafa Benitez confirms he won't see Tom Hicks' US$500 million windfall

Liverpool are currently fighting hard to qualify for next season's Champions League, and Torres' string of injuries have not helped the cause. Mandic added: "We had Rafa Benítez call him the other night inquiring who these guys were because Fernando Torres has got such major problems now. Look at Liverpool. Why is it that over so many recent years, usually around November, lots of their key players are injured? It's always soft-tissue injuries. How come other clubs, like Arsenal, don't have that sort of a dilemma? And why do their players recover quicker? There's logical reasons for all of this."

Mandic's mention of Arsenal is interesting, given the Gunners' own near-constant stream of injury problems, but his words may cause concern at Anfield.