Celtic star draws criticism with recent interview

It’s safe to say, the 25/26 season for Celtic has not gone as well as the 24/25 season did. There has been a real failure for the team who took Bayern Munich all the way to kick on this time round.

One player who really encapsulates the decline from last season to this is Kasper Schmeichel. The goalkeeper was very serviceable last season, and showed why he has had such a successful career so far.

However, throughout this campaign, he has looked way off the pace. Even for a goalkeeper, with much less physical strain than any other position, he has looked extremely unfit. And well, that has proven to literally be the case.

Celtic number one gives outspoken interview

Indeed, as in a recent interview with CBS, the 39-year old explained he has been playing through pain this season: “I was at a specialist yesterday, basically I’m going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder. It’s a bit of a body blow. It’s basically [that] I’ve torn the bicep, torn the rotator cuff, discolated the shoulder, torn the labrum, everything’s kind of gone.

To put it into terms you can understand. It’s like an outfielder doing their ACL and their achilles at the same time. So yeah, it’s looking like 10-12 months of rehab. So yeah, it’s been a strange few days.

You play through injuries, and I felt in a game, probably about six weeks ago that I dislocated it [shoulder]. Like an idiot, I was just thinking ‘these World Cup qualifiers for Denmark, I’ve got to get there’ so I took the injections, took the pills to numb the pain. I tried to get through it.

But at this point, the consultant asked if I was alright in the head (laughs).”

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Schmeichel’s Father, legendary goalkeeper Peter – who was also part of this interview – said that the Celtic keeper had broken his shoulder in a UEFA Nations League game for Denmark against Portugal. That game took place on the 23rd of March last year.

After that game, he did not actually play again for Celtic until the 10th of May. However, that does feel like quite a quick recovery time for a broken shoulder. So, perhaps it was somewhat rushed.

It’s safe to say, this interview has not gone down well with the Celtic faithful. Many have accused Schmeichel of putting himself and Denmark before the club. During this season, the decline in his performances have been quite costly points wise. So, there is frustration that Celtic, who pay his wages, have not been prioritised in this particular situation.

Given the goalkeeper will turn 40, there is a serious possibility that he has played the last game of his career. He himself alludes to the fact he could be as old as 41 by the time he’s next ready to play a game.

Even if Schmeichel does play again in his career, it feels very unlikely that he will play for Celtic again. The club can’t just wait for him to recover from an injury that he, well, quite simply, may not even recover from.

Fortunately, this allows a great opportunity for Viljami Sinisalo to develop. He has impressed recently, keeping a clean sheet away to VfB Stuttgart, and was the hero against Rangers in the cup. At 24, the Finland international is still extremely young for a goalkeeper.

Perhaps we will see Ross Doohan move in the summer, allowing Celtic to bring in an experienced number two for Sinisalo and to deputise for him if and when it is necessary.