Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta insists Fernando Torres' dry spell in front of goal is down to bad luck with goalkeepers.
Vicente del Bosque omitted the Chelsea forward from his squad for Spain's upcoming World Cup qualifiers, pinpointing the striker's lack of consistency as the main reason for the snub.
But Torres' compatriot and team-mate in west London believes the former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid marksman simply needs a change in fortune.
"He perhaps hasn't had the luck that strikers need," Azpilicueta told Goal.com.
"And now, although he is doing things very well, there are times when he comes up against goalkeepers that have the game of their life against him.
"Everybody wants to be called up for the national team, and Fernando as well, of course. At the end of the day there are a lot of players who can't be called up.
"Fernando always works hard, he wants the best for the team and for him, in all the training sessions he works so hard."
The 23-year-old dismissed suggestions the Chelsea squad are distracted by fan opposition to Rafael Benitez's status as the club's interim manager.
"He has a contract until June and we all know that," Azpilicueta said. "At the end of the day the club makes the decisions and they always want the best for Chelsea. If he carries on, that's fine.
"And if they think it's best if he doesn't, that's also fine. Rafa is concentrating on the day to day and nobody thinks about anything above that. If we don't achieve the current objectives, we will all be responsible."
The Spaniard also said Jose Mourinho, who has been strongly linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, is still revered at the club.
"I don't know (whether he would be best), we are talking about a manager who has a contract with Real Madrid," Azpilicueta said.
"The people at Chelsea and the fans have tremendous affection for him, but the situation is that we have a manager and he has a contract. It will have to wait until the transfer market."
