GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Celtic and Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel fears his career might be over because he needs two shoulder operations that will require up to a year of rehabilitation.
The 39-year-old Schmeichel said he was given the diagnosis on a visit to a specialist on Monday. He has missed Celtic's last five matches after aggravating a longstanding left shoulder injury playing against Stuttgart in the Europa League last month.
“It’s a bit of a body blow," Schmeichel told CBS Sports Golazo Network late Tuesday. "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," he added. "Because 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.”
Schmeichel, who will be missing when Denmark plays in the World Cup playoffs next week, said he will undergo surgery on Friday and vowed to fight to continue his career.
“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.”
Schmeichel — the son of Manchester United great Peter Schmeichel — was a member of the Leicester team that won the Premier League in unforgettable style in 2016 as well as the FA Cup five years later. He then played for Nice and Anderlecht, before joining Celtic in 2024.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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