Schuns, Austria: Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will not be risked by Spain when it takes on South Korea in a World Cup warmup match Thursday.
While most of Spain's players who finished the season with injuries will use the friendly at Innsbruck's Tivoli Stadium as another step in their recovery, Torres will be left on the sidelines by the European champion as he continues to battle back to full fitness after a knee injury.
"He feels good and we have no doubt on (June) 16th he'll be in perfect playing conditions," Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said. "But the most important thing is that he's well on that day and he won't be if he plays tomorrow.
"We won't take any risks. We haven't done it with any player and in this case we won't either."
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas will play for the first time since fracturing his leg in April, while Barcelona's Andres Iniesta could also feature after recovering from a thigh muscle injury.
"We're going to give him minutes, he needs them," Del Bosque said of Iniesta. "I think he can play inside or out, in whatever place we put him. It's good news he's well."
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes could make his Spain debut in what will be a rematch of the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal match, which the Koreans won in a penalty shootout.
Switzerland, which Spain faces in its Group H opener at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium, lost 1-0 Tuesday to Costa Rica, which failed to qualify for South Africa.
But Del Bosque was not reading too much into that result.
"It wasn't Switzerland's best day but that's not the team we'll face at the World Cup," he said.
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