Kasper Schmeichel facing a year of rehab for shoulder issue, worried career could be over

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celtic/QFKRRD8M/"]Celtic[/a] goalkeeper has been playing through the pain since hurting his left shoulder while appearing for Denmark last year and aggravated the injury against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vfb-stuttgart/nJQmYp1B/"]Stuttgart[/a] last month.[/p][p]He has missed the last five matches for Scottish champions Celtic and received a "devastating" diagnosis from a specialist on Monday.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schmeichel-kasper/WM5fllIl/"]Schmeichel[/a], speaking to [i]CBS Sports Golazo Network[/i], said: "I'm going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder.[/p][p][b]"It's a bit of a body blow. 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."[/b][/p][p]The 39-year-old added: [b]"You don't really know how to react to this. 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."[/b][/p][embed guid="2cb57f9f-dc84-4b2d-b226-a07928db879c" url="https://x.com/i/status/2034050630696718714" social-type="twitter" /][p]Schmeichel is the son of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, a key figure in several of the successful [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a] teams managed by Alex Ferguson.[/p][p]Kasper Schmeichel was between the posts when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leicester/KrrdAMyI/"]Leicester[/a] caused one of the all-time great upsets in English football by winning the Premier League in 2016 and was the Foxes' keeper when they lifted the FA Cup five years later.[/p][p]He later played for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nice/YagoQJpq/"]Nice[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/anderlecht/vslqAKNo/"]Anderlecht[/a] before joining Glasgow giants Celtic ahead of the 2024/25 season.[/p][p]Schmeichel's initial operation is set to take place on Friday and he is determined to salvage his career despite what promises to be a lengthy period of rehabilitation.[/p][p]"My mind is like, 'OK, I'm going to give it absolutely everything I can to see if I can get back'," he said.[/p][p][b]"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."[/b][/p]