 Tunchev was peerless as he guided the club's defence through the first half of the 2008–09 season, losing just two league games.His season was cut short when he suffered a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 2–1 FA Cup replay defeat to Crystal Palace on 14 January 2009.It was Tunchev's "first big injury," his previous being a pulled hamstring.