The Celtic door was brutally slammed shut in the face of Kasper Schmeichel following his possible career-ending injury.
But while one door closes for one player, it has opened up for Viljami Sinisalo, who has now taken the main gloves for Celtic.
Ahead of Celtic’s Premiership clash against St Mirren, Sinisalo has shared that he spoke with Schmeichel before the March international break, and his injured teammate is doing well.
“He (Schmeichel) is fine,” said Sinisalo “I saw him before the international break, before he went on to get his operation. He hasn’t been in since because he’s had that. We all wish him all the very best.
“The stuff that came out isn’t nice to hear.”
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Viljami Sinisalo on speaking with Kasper Schmeichel
There are sections of the Celtic fan base who feel that Schmeichel was selfish with his actions because he had a shoulder injury for around a year, but opted against having surgery to address it.
It was clear to all that the Denmark international had issues diving, and now all of it has come to smack him, Celtic and his nation in the face.
But while some don’t sympathise with Schmeichel’s situation, at the end of the day, it’s a different world when it comes to goalkeepers, as Sinisalo explained in his pre-match St Mirren press conference.
“It’s a sport within a sport (goalkeepers in football), I have said that many a time,” said Sinisalo. “It’s a really lonely position. There is no position like it on the football pitch.
“He (Schmeichel) is fine. I saw him before the international break, before he went on to get his operation. He hasn’t been in since because he’s had that. We all wish him all the very best.
“The stuff that came out isn’t nice to hear. But we are going to try and do our best to go and win the next game, and see where it takes us. But everyone wishes all the very best to him.”
Sinisalo is ready to be Celtic’s long-term number one
Sinisalo joined Celtic from Aston Villa during the same summer as Schmeichel. Joe Hart had just retired.
The Finnish international was highly rated at Villa Park, but he had the former world’s number one goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, ahead of him, so it was always going to be a tall order to push ahead of the World Cup winner.
However, Sinisalo has shown that he is ready to be Celtic’s long-term number one keeper, and as he explained, he can only get better by being exposed to the real pressure environments.
“I think for any player, the more you play, the better you get,” said Sinisalo. “I would like to think that’s the case for me, especially as a goalie, because it’s about distances. Confidence. You can only build that by playing.
“Hopefully, I can keep doing that and get better as the games go on. That’s the aim.”
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