Colorado Rapids designated player Gabriel Torres is recovering from a multitude of injuries but the forward has been called in by the Panamanian national team for its upcoming matches against Serbia and Brazil on May 31 and June 3, respectively. His targeted MLS return date is June 7.

Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni said Tuesday recent tests showed damage in Torres’ quadriceps, hamstrings and lower back. However, the man he described as “Panama’s biggest star” has made drastic improvement over the past 10 days.

“He’s driven, he’s committed, he wants to be able to be more explosive,” Mastroeni said. “And, he realizes from all the screening and tests that he’s got a ways to go, but with the support of myself, the staff and the organization, there’s no doubt in my mind in the coming weeks and months we’ll have a new Gaby Torres.”

The 25-year old Panamanian is scheduled to rejoin the Rapids’ regular training sessions Wednesday.

“I’ve known for a while that Panama wanted me for these games, but I had to get the last word from the club, and when the club said it was OK, then I started to get everything rolling,” Torres said through an interpreter Tuesday. “The team wanted me to play because these games are important and also because of the new coach of the Panama national team.”

Mastroeni said being called up for international play is a great honor, and he supports it.

“It’s a balance, right? It’s not about us, it’s about Gaby. So, there’s a balance to be had. So if Gaby feels like (joining Panama) is something he wants to do for his career, then we as an organization support that.”

Torres’ new workout program includes a strength training regimen and a close monitoring of his lactate threshold. The striker, who came to the Rapids in August of last year, is looking forward to his stint with Panama as a way to build his confidence.

“Playing with Panama will help me mentally a lot, regaining morale,” he said.

Torres ranks 14th on the Rapids in minutes played (421), and he has mustered only seven shots in eight games (five starts), with only one shot on target.

“Obviously, Oscar brought me here, so he had a lot of confidence in me,” Torres said. “It’s taking a little bit to get his confidence but I’m on the right path and putting everything together and all the effort possible to make it happen. And I’m confident that I’m getting there.”

With Torres’ injury history, Mastroeni said the club chose a route of caution, teaching him training methods and techniques that it believes will last him an entire career.

“Hopefully he’ll be at Man City or Man U in years to come, and he won’t be at this club and he’ll be achieving all these dreams and millions of dollars,” Mastroeni said. “And I always say the same thing, ‘Don’t forget the guys who invested in you when you were a small fish.’ I’ve got great aspirations for Gaby and I think he’s destined for great things.”

Daniel Boniface: 303-954-1104, dboniface@denverpost.com or twitter.com/danielboniface