Kasper Schmeichel has discussed the speculation around his career-ending Celtic injury.
Schmeichel announced his retirement earlier this week, having damaged his shoulder beyond repair over the last 12 months.
His legacy is the subject of debate among Celtic fans, with some crediting his initial impact whilst others criticise his decision to play through an injury that clearly limited his ability, perceivably to the detriment of results.
In one of his first interviews since his retirement, Schmeichel has discussed his ‘strange’ situation at Celtic.
How will you reflect on Kasper Schmeichel’s two years at Celtic?
Kasper Schmeichel: ‘I know the truth about my injury’
Schmeichel told FourFourTwo: “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.
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“The conversation with the doctors became more not about actually playing again but about quality of life. I’m one operation into potentially three more.
“It’s been really strange in the sense of I’ve still been under contract at Celtic and I’ve been in and around the team while going to see the experts.
“I played 39 games this season. We were going for a Double, which we ended up getting. I was still very much trying to be a part of that, even though you can’t be.
“Martin was great. He knows me. He knows I tried everything to see if I could get back from this. Sometimes the body makes the decisions that the heart can’t read.
“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.
“I wanted desperately to win trophies for Celtic. And ultimately, we did, and I look back on my time at Celtic with nothing but great memories.
“It’s a club that got under my skin very, very quickly. It’s just a special club. 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. There are Celtic fans everywhere around the world. You have to win every single game and not just win it, win it well. I just love that.”
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Kasper Schmeichel’s final season at Celtic
Schmeichel had been outstanding in his first nine months in Glasgow, and at the beginning of this campaign, he proved the critics wrong by beginning the season with a run of eight consecutive clean sheets.
But as early as Celtic’s 2-0 home defeat to Braga, fans were calling for him to be dropped.
Schmeichel was booed by his own fans in Celtic’s defeat to Stuttgart, and in an unfortunate coincidence, this turned out to be the game when his shoulder damage became irreparable.
It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Schmeichel after such a damaging period, especially given that such a gifted goalkeeper would’ve had a real chance at a full recovery if more time had been taken with the injury.
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