Spain coach Luis Aragones played down fears of an injury to Fernando Torres following his side's Euro 2008 opener in which they defeated Russia 4-1.

The Liverpool striker failed to find the back of the net in Innsbruck and was replaced after 54 minutes by Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Aragones explained: "There was no injury whatsoever. Torres has had a long tough season, he will be a very important player for us."

He added: "But at that point we needed more strength in the centre of midfield. He was a very important player in helping (David) Villa score the first goal and he made it tough for our opponents."

Aragones felt his side were given a much tougher ride than the final scoreline suggested.

David Villa was the star of the show in Innsbruck, earning himself the man of the match award with a hat-trick, before Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas wrapped up the scoring in injury-time after Russia had pulled a goal back through Roman Pavluchenko.

"The 4-1 win seems easy but it was definitely not, because our opponents are in good physical shape and it was certainly tough," he said.

Spain rode their luck at times, but then took a stranglehold on the match when Villa scored his second just before half-time.

"We opened the scoring but we were fortunate when they could have drawn level," said Aragones, who felt Villa's second was key.

"We faced a difficult team that was in excellent physical shape, but after going 2-0 we started playing with greater ease, we dominated the pitch and continued scoring."