Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has signed a two-year contract extension with the Premier League club. The Slovakia international still had two years remaining on his deal but has now committed his future to Liverpool until 2014. Skrtel, 25, arrived at Anfield from Russian side Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008 for £6m.

He told the club’s website: “A club like Liverpool deserves to win trophies and I will help them do that.” Skrtel has played 82 games during his time with the Merseyside outfit and was a first-team regular as Liverpool finished seventh in the Premier League last season.

Skrtel added: “The spirit is very good and we showed that against Arsenal with a great performance. We can build on that and carry it on. “We have quality in the dressing room and I know we will do better this year. “Everyone plays football to win trophies. Playing for Liverpool is a big motivation for everyone and we will do everything we can to win the Premier League. We have the highest targets - to win everything.” A broken metatarsal ruled Skrtel out for the final three months of last season but he returned from injury to play in every game for Slovakia at the World Cup before their exit at the hands of the Netherlands in the last 16.

There had been reports on Russian television this week that Martin Skrtel is not happy at Liverpool and is looking to leave the club. But Rafa has come out today and reassured us that everything is well with Skrtel and the player has not intentions of leaving Liverpool.

Rafa said, “I was talking with Martin at Melwood yesterday and it was clear that he is very happy and just wants to get back playing. He is working very hard to get himself fit again and he is very settled at Liverpool – both in the city and at the club.”
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The second Martin Skrtel stayed on the turf I knew that he was seriously injured.  His demeanor, work rate, and passion for the game that is so evident week in and week out meant there was no chance of him pulling anything with the score and match the way they were.

After that initial thought, I was hit by a second thought:

“perhaps this is just what we need”

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Some good news to come out of Anfield today with regards to the injury Martin Skrtel sustained in the victory against Manchester City. Skrtel saw a specialist today and he confirmed that the defender does not need surgery on his knee. This means that Martin could be back in action by Christmas which is excellent news for us. I had thought initially that Skrtel would be out for the rest of the season or at the earliest be back by Easter but now hopefully by Christmas we will see the ‘big man’ back. I am sure he will undergo serious rehab and will not be rushed back into action and he aggravates the injury.

This is some good news to spice up the day at a time where not much is happening as we look ahead to the international break.

As many of us had expected, Martin Skrtel’s injury in yesterdays win against Manchester City has been confirmed as damage to his right knee’s posterior cruciate ligament. Skrtel will see a specialist in the next 24 hours who will determine how long the defender will be out of action for but we should suspect him to be out for several months. This is a massive blow for us as Skrtel had been playing really well alongside Carragher.

This is now time for Agger to step up and reclaim his spot as one of Europe’s top defenders. I have faith in Agger and I know he will do well for us. My only concern now is in the Champions League as Hyypia can not play. If Agger and Carra get injured we could find ourselves short in the back as I suspect Skrtel could be out for the rest of the season.

Get well soon Martin!