Widespread reports on Tuesday suggested the former Atletico Madrid front-man could be set for a further two months on the sidelines, with several publications claiming the goal-getter required surgery on a hernia.
While others suggested Torres was due to go under the knife to cure a groin problem.
And despite Spanish journalist and Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague opining that Torres simply needed rest, not surgery, to heal a groin injury, Benitez has now revealed that the striker has a hernia.
"We know Fernando has a [hernia] problem, and we have to manage it," he said ahead of his side's crucial Champions League clash against Lyon.
"The positive thing is that he is improving, and he is in less pain each time he plays and trains.
"Hopefully if we can continue doing well with him, he will not need an operation, that is our idea.
"Now it is a question of how he feels and what will happen if he plays.
"Yesterday he was better still and hopefully tomorrow he will be even better."
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