 He returned for pre-season duty on 11 July 2009, scoring the only goal of the game in a friendly win against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium.However, Porter's hip problem that ruled him out of the final stages of the 2008–09 season struck once again, with the player requiring an operation that would again rule him out for a number of months.He finally made his return to first-team action for the first time since March on 8 December, making a substitute appearance in Derby's 0–0 stalemate with Preston North End at Deepdale.