Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez has revealed that striker Fernando Torres played through the club's defeat to Swansea City with a stomach bug.

The Spain international was booed off the field during the Blues' 2-0 defeat to the Swans in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final earlier this week but Benitez has insisted that the forward's poor performance was down to illness.

"I could not explain it before the match, because [Swansea boss] Michael Laudrup would have known but Fernando had a stomach bug," Benitez said in a press conference.

"So Fernando was playing with the problem. I was really pleased with him because he was trying to play despite the problems he had."

Meanwhile, reports have emerged claiming that Torres has regularly mentioned to his teammates that he would prefer to be at former club Liverpool rather than Stamford Bridge.