Spanish international striker Fernando Torres says that he is happy to be back with his Chelsea teammates and is looking to make up the time he has missed.
Torres was given time off to rest along with Juan Mata, Cesar Azpilicueta, Oscar and John Obi Mikel who all played in this summer Confederations Cup in Brazil.
The rest of the team were on tour in Asia trying to impress the new boss Jose Mourinho, while Torres and the other missing players have been waiting for their chance.
Some of us are behind but we are trying to get fit as soon as possible. It’s difficult for us guys from the Confederations Cup to fit into the team now because the other guys have had 22 days more than us,’ Torres said.
‘In pre-season that’s a huge difference and you can see they are much fitter than us, so we have to work even harder to fit in because the season is right there, in two weeks’ time. ‘We have to be ready for that and we know how important it is to start well.’
Torres was quite happy to have the time off and conceded that he could not remember the last time he had a proper rest.
‘I don’t remember the last time I had four weeks off in a summer so it was great and now I am fully prepared for the season, which should be a good one for all of us.’
Chelsea take on Real Madrid tonight in Washington, and the former Atletico player is keen to take on his old clubs rivals.
‘It is always a big game for me. I grew up in a city where Real was the biggest team, one of the biggest in the world. We were always in the shadow of Real Madrid so I know what it is like.
‘I never beat them playing for Atletico, it was nearly 15 years without beating them until the last Copa Del Rey.
‘I had the chance to beat them with Liverpool, and this is the third time I will play them after leaving Spain, so even though it is a friendly to me it is very important and I know a lot of Atletico fans want us to win, to see that Real lost, and even more if I am playing on the other team.’
