Liverpool will be without their top scorer Fernando Torres for the semi final meeting with Atletico Madrid on Thursday, kicks-off at 20:05 (BST). The tie between the two clubs who qualified for the Europa League after finishing third in their respective groups will conclude on Merseyside on April 29.

The Anfield club players and coaching staff had to endure a gruelling 1,200 mile journey to Madrid by plane, coach and train. The volcanic ash cloud that has caused travel chaos across Europe forced the Reds to look for other alternatives to travel from Merseyside to the capital of Spain.

The Red and Spain number ‘9’ will have to watch the tie between his current and former club from Merseyside. Torres is currently working at Liverpool’s Melwood training facilities intent on regaining full fitness after surgery on the meniscus in his right knee. Just like his teammates, the striker also endured a long trip from Liverpool to Spain. Torres was forced to travel to Barcelona, where he had surgery, by car and train.

The Kid has hit four goals in four Europa League appearances, grabbing two important goals against Benfica in the last round as Liverpool overturned a 2-1 defeat from the first-leg with a 4-1 win at Anfield.

Kuyt and Leiva put the Reds on their way before half-time before Torres added a third after the break. Cardozo pulled a goal back for the Portuguese side, but the Spaniard struck Liverpool’s fourth of the night with just under ten minutes remaining.

The Reds have faced Atletico Madrid on three occasions, twice in the Champions League and once in a friendly. The last meeting between the two was back in August last year in the Reds’ final pre-season outing. Despite the best efforts of Fernando Torres, who was denied on several occasions but the Atletico keeper, his home-town club won the friendly fixture 2-1.

Last season the two teams met in the group stages of the Champions League. An injury picked-up on international duty kept Fernando Torres out of both matches which ended in 1-1 draws.

Despite not playing in Madrid, the ‘Torres song’ could be heard loud and clear throughout the 1-1 draw between Atletico and Liverpool at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, as both sets of supporters chanted the striker’s name. The two groups of fans bonded during the 90 minutes in the Spanish capital and it’s expected that Thursday’s meeting will be no different.

The Spain forward will be sorely missed by team-mates and fans from both clubs. Fernando Torres started his career at Atletico and worked his way up through the youth ranks to first team captain. The striker defended the Atletico Madrid colours for 12 years before joining Liverpool during the summer of 2007, where he has scored 56 goals in 79 appearances.

Torres’ former club made the last four after squeezing past Valencia in the quarterfinals. The teams drew 2-2 at Mestalla, but a scoreless draw in Madrid saw Atletico through on away goals.

Domestically the Rojiblancos are enjoying a mixed season. Atletico have qualified for the final of the King’s Cup (where they will face Seville at Barcelona’s Camp Nou) but in the league they currently lie tenth, nine points off sixth-placed Villarreal and eight points above the drop zone.

Liverpool will look to seal their place in the Europa League Final in Hamburg when Atletico visit Anfield for the return leg in a week’s time. In the other semifinal, Hamburg face Fulham in Germany, before the return leg at the Londoner's Craven Cottage.