As punishment for their involvement in the "Calciopoli" scandal, Milan began the 2006–07 Serie A season with an eight-point deficit in the standings, and finished fourth behind Internazionale, Roma and Lazio. Following a strike by Lazio's Stephen Makinwa in Milan's 2–1 season opener on 10 September 2006, Dida did not allow a league goal for the next 446 minutes. He played his 200th match for Milan in a 1–0 win over Ascoli on 20 September. However, 2006–07 was also the first injury-plagued season of his career, beginning with knee ligament damage suffered in Milan's 1–0 loss to AEK Athens on 21 November 2006 that sidelined him for the rest of the year. Reserve keeper Zeljko Kalac deputized until Dida returned on 21 January 2007 in a goalless draw with Lazio. He missed 13 total Serie A matches due to recurring knee and shoulder problems, after having missed ten games in the last three seasons combined.