Update: Fernando Torres is out of the hospital

For a brief period on Thursday night, Fernando Torres’ life appeared to be in jeopardy. The Atlético Madrid icon was felled by a forearm to the back of the head while jostling to win a header against Alex Bergantiños and lost consciousness. While some sources indicated that Torres was conscious again before he was taken to the hospital, definitive reports regarding his status were not received until El Niño arrived at hospital in A Coruña. Radio MARCA was the first to say Torres was conscious and talking, and reports got rosier from there.

On Friday, Atlético divulged the best news of all.

And here is a video from Radio Coruña’s Adrián Candal of Torres walking out:

Candal further reported that as Torres’ doctors are not permitting him to fly, he will be spending the weekend with his wife and her family in Santiago, which is Galicia’s capital.

While Atlético will be closely monitoring Torres’ progress in the coming days, it certainly seems that this was all a big scare. It’s advisable that Atleti bring him back slowly, but all signs point to Torres being back - if not before the next international break, then immediately after it - in a remarkable and wonderful turn of events.