Kasper Schmeichel has admitted his career might be over because of a serious shoulder injury.
The Celtic goalkeeper has been playing through the pain since hurting his left shoulder for Denmark last year and aggravated the problem against Stuttgart last month.
He has sat out the last five matches for Martin O’Neill’s side and was given the “devastating” diagnosis on a visit to a specialist on Monday.
Speaking to CBS Sports Golazo Network, Schmeichel said: “I’m going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder.
“It’s a bit of a body blow. I’ve torn the bicep, torn the rotator cuff, dislocated the shoulder, torn the labrum — everything’s kind of gone. It’s looking like 10-12 months of rehab.
“You don’t really know how to react to this. I could have potentially played my last ever football game. I’ve been a footballer since the day I was born. That kind of thought is devastating. It’s very, very hard to wrap my head around at the moment.”
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The 39-year-old followed in the footsteps of his father Peter, who was an integral part of Manchester United’s glory years, and his career has extended over two decades.
Schmeichel was a member of the Leicester side that won the Premier League in 2016 as well as the FA Cup five years later, moving on to Nice and Anderlecht before joining Celtic in the summer of 2024.
He will go under the knife for the first time on Friday, and he vowed to fight for his career through what will be a lengthy rehabilitation process.
“My mind is like, ‘OK, I’m going to give it absolutely everything I can to see if I can get back’,” he said.
“It would be probably one of the greatest feats of my career if I could get back from an injury like this. I’m going to fight, I’m going to try everything I can.”
