 Škrtel made a bright start to the 2008–09 season, starting in all but one Premier League match and displacing out of favour Daniel Agger to the bench.He put in a number of strong performances with defensive partner Jamie Carragher against many top teams, notably Manchester United, Everton and Marseille in the Champions League.On 5 October 2008, however, Škrtel suffered a serious knee injury after falling awkwardly when challenging Ched Evans late in a game against Manchester City.