Gutted Kasper Schmeichel says Celtic manager Martin O’Neill knows the “truth” about the shoulder injury that brought his professional career to a close.
The 39-year-old goalkeeper suffered the injury during a game against Stuttgart, which proved to be his second-last appearance as a professional footballer.
Schmeichel had already endured a difficult night, receiving jeers from Parkhead supporters amid multiple errors before the extent of his shoulder damage became clear.
He played on through the injury, featuring in a 2-1 defeat to Hibs before medical examinations revealed the full severity of his condition.
The Dane, capped 120 times by his country, has since undergone the first of what is expected to be multiple surgical procedures on his shoulder.
Despite speculation surrounding his exit, Schmeichel was keen to stress that those inside Celtic, particularly O’Neill, are fully aware of what happened.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Schmeichel said: “The surgeon says that it’s not going to be able to be fixed to play at the level that I want to play. The decision has been taken for me. It’s definitely not how I wanted it, my career’s finished.”
He added: “It was a specific injury, it happened in the Stuttgart game. It was actually fine and it was right at the end, I felt that I need to get this checked. It was pretty damaged.”
Schmeichel described how medical conversations shifted away from returning to football and toward preserving his long-term quality of life.
“The conversation with the doctors became more not about actually playing again but about quality of life,” he said. “I’m one operation into potentially three more.”
He confirmed he currently retains roughly 60 percent of his shoulder’s range of motion, and remains active in limited ways, including playing tennis and padel using his other arm.
Schmeichel was clear about where responsibility lies, saying: “Whether they knew the truth or not, people will inevitably make their own minds up. I know the truth. Martin knows the truth. I gave everything for Celtic.”
He reflected warmly on his two years in Glasgow, during which he collected four trophies and described Celtic as a club that got “under my skin very, very quickly.”
“It’s just a special club,” he said. “It’s the whole intensity of it, how much it means, the responsibility you feel being a Celtic player. When you live in Glasgow, it’s all anyone talks about.”
Schmeichel played 39 games during his final season, with Celtic ultimately completing a Double, a result he described as deeply satisfying given the adversity he faced personally.
“Every footballer dreams he will bow out on the pitch,” he said. “But it was more important to finish the year with the trophy. And we did finish with two, and that was, for me, the most satisfying part.”
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