Portugal Colonial - Celtic keeper Schmeichel fears shoulder injury could end his career

The Celtic goalkeeper has been playing through the pain since hurting his left shoulder while appearing for Denmark last year and aggravated the injury against Stuttgart last month.

He has missed the last five matches for Scottish champions Celtic and received a "devastating" diagnosis from a specialist on Monday.

Schmeichel, speaking to CBS Sports Golazo Network, said: "I'm going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder.

"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."

The 39-year-old added: "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."

Schmeichel is the son of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, a key figure in several of the successful Manchester United teams managed by Alex Ferguson.

Kasper Schmeichel was between the posts when Leicester caused one of the all-time great upsets in English football by winning the English Premier League in 2016 and was the Foxes' keeper when they lifted the FA Cup five years later.

He later played for Nice and Anderlecht before joining Glasgow giants Celtic ahead of the 2024/25 season.

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.

"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."

L.Mesquita--PC