Remember me
Only goalkeeper will know truth of it all, says manager
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill says only Kasper Schmeichel will know whether he has been fully honest with the extent of his injury, admitting that the goalkeeper’s live television declaration that his career might be over caught him off-guard.
While O’Neill was aware Schmeichel was nursing a shoulder injury, the Celtic boss did not believe it required surgery. The 39-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has almost certainly played his last game for the club.
Schmeichel’s surprise on-air announcement has been met with questions on whether he played for Celtic while not fit and why he chose not to reveal his status through club channels. He originally hurt his shoulder a year ago while playing for Denmark and has since been scrutinised for errors, notably in last season’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen and more recently against Kilmarnock and Stuttgart.
Kasper Schmeichel was present at Celtic training despite his injury. | SNS Group“I must admit I was surprised at the severity of it [the injury],” said O’Neill. “I know that he was having injections to play some of the games and, while that’s not a great remedy, I didn’t realise how bad it was. So, disappointed to hear the news.
“I didn’t think that Kasper was going to announce it. Tim [Williamson], our physio, was aware that the scan had shown up much worse than we thought. But I wasn’t expecting to hear that. I didn’t hear it first hand, but I heard it second hand. Obviously I would have preferred to have heard it myself.
"If you've done some extra damage in between times, let's say he's done some extra days of training here, then maybe I can understand it, but from the previous scans that we'd done, I never thought we were dealing with a career-threatening injury.
“He didn’t realise it was done and deep down I think he was surprised of the serious nature of something else that had happened at the top of his shoulder.”
O’Neill confirmed that it is not uncommon for Celtic players get their own scans with trusted medics - but that the club’s medical team had advised the latest one. “We have a very good medical team,” said O’Neill. “I know there’s this idea players everywhere go and see their own doctors because they can afford it and they can do this.
“Arne Engels went to Belgium because he’s known a person there. Away back I used to think this was disrespectful to the staff at the club but it becomes so common place, the length of time I’m in here I almost disregard it. The last one he did was recommended by us.”
Schmeichel’s 100 per cent honesty on his injury has also been discussed. “Eventually, only Kasper would know that,” said O’Neill. “I was surprised the announcement had been made, and the severity of it.
“I get back to the point where players play with injuries. In terms of injections I used to get injected myself to mask the pain. It doesn’t really clear it up. In my first spell here I knew his shoulder had caused a few problems and he’d had a couple of injections to play and he did really well.
“I don’t want to be accused of flogging somebody. Of course someone has to come and tell you this is so bad I can’t play in the game. But I never thought it was an issue of a career-ending injury.”