Skrtel closes on return

Defender hoping to be back by the end of the year

By Vasek Kadlec   Last updated: 18th December 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Skrtel closes on return

Skrtel: Hoping for swift return

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Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel still hopes to return to action before the end of 2008.

The 24-year-old has been sidelined since picking up a knee injury in the victory over Manchester City in October.

He has resumed training but admits that he is still short of fitness and not quite ready to come back into first-team contention.

Skrtel is reluctant to put a precise date on his return but believes he should be available again before the turn of the year.

"The knee is alright but I still have a problem with breathing as I don't have the fitness I had before I got injured," Skrtel told SITA.

"My strength has been good but speed and acceleration has been worse after almost three months of rehabilitation. That will return with time.

"So far I have been through only two training sessions. We will see how I am doing after one or two weeks of training, then we can speak about my return.

"There is no date set for my comeback. I would be very glad to make it in this year.

"A three-month break is rather long and I must try hard now to get back to action as soon as possible."

Successful

The Slovakia international has been with Liverpool since January and he believes he has progressed as a player over the past 12 months.

"This year has been definitely the most successful one in my career," he said.

"At the end of the previous year we won the league with Zenit (St Petersburg) and a month later I moved to Liverpool, where I have been playing regularly and people have been satisfied with my performances.

"I think that I made the right decision to go to Liverpool."