Fernando Torres set to miss next four Liverpool matches

And a further scan on his hamstring yesterday revealed that he could be out for up to 15 days, making him almost certain to miss next week's trip to Chelsea in the Premier League.

He then faces a race to be fit for the first midweek Premier League programme of the campaign, in which Liverpool play Portsmouth at Anfield on Wednesday, October 29.

A scan on Ryan Babel, who was injured playing for Holland against Norway, revealed he has sprained an ankle and is "a major doubt" to face Wigan, but he should recover in time for the Atletico fixture.

But the injury setback to Torres has prompted Benitez to call for an overhaul in the international football calendar as he feels players are overworked and being put at increased risk of injury.

Torres was twice injured while away with Spain last season, although on the flip side, his first hamstring injury of this season coincided with an international break which meant he only missed one Liverpool game, the 2-1 win over Manchester United.

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Benitez said: "There are too many international games, and the demands on the players are too much. Someone needs to analyse this situation, because it is putting the players at risk of injury.

"Maybe the answer is for there to be a two-tier qualifying system, because there are too many games in the qualifiers for the World Cup and the European Championships which are not competitive but which still place great demands on the players.

"These fixtures are unnecessary, and maybe it would be better if the weaker countries played one another and the best of them went to play the stronger countries in the qualifiers."

Benitez can still call on in-form Robbie Keane, who broke his Liverpool duck against PSV Eindhoven and scored Ireland's winner against Cyprus on Wednesday.

"It is important that we show our strength at times like this," the manager added.

"We cannot do anything about the injuries, so it is up to the players to come in and do a good job if they are needed."