FERNANDO Torres admits Chelsea’s Confederations Cup stars are facing a race against time to be fit for the start of the new Premier League season.

Torres is just one of a number of the Blues first-team squad who were involved in this summer’s showpiece tournament in Brazil.

The likes of Juan Mata, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Oscar also went the distance at the Confederations Cup as they went all the way to the final in Rio.

Playing in the competition has meant pre-season preparations being cut short for the and Spanish striker Torres reckons the internationals are now playing catch-up.

“Some of us are behind but we are trying to get fit as soon as possible,” he said.

“It's difficult for us guys from the Confederations Cup to fit into the team now because the other guys have had 22 days more than us.

“In pre-season that's a huge difference and you can see they are much fitter than us, so we have to work even harder to fit in because the season is right there, in two weeks' time.

“We have to be ready for that and we know how important it is to start well.”

Chelsea continue their pre-season campaign against Real Madrid in Miami tonight, although Luiz has withdrawn from the squad due to a suspected hamstring injury.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest Chelsea news.

Follow me on Twitter .