Skrtel Explains His Absence

Martin Skrtel has revealed he is sitting out international duty in order to recover from a thigh injury which nagged him through the final months of 2010-11.

The centre-back missed Slovakia's 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday on doctor's orders.

He explained: "It is a minor injury. I had problems with my thighs for the last two months and it was quite painful.

"My doctor told me to rest so I need to respect his decision. I did speak with Mr. Weiss (Slovakia manager Vladimir Weiss) and he knows about my problems."

Skrtel did not miss a minute of Barclays Premier League action in 2010-11, a feat matched by just one other outfield player across the division - Everton's Leighton Baines.

In total he played 3591 minutes of league football, scoring two goals and collecting joint most yellow cards with Lucas Leiva on eight.