Martin O’Neill surprised by Kasper Schmeichel surgery announcement

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has expressed his surprise and disappointment after veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel announced on live television that he requires double shoulder surgery.

The 39-year-old revealed the extent of his injury on CBS’s Champions League coverage on Wednesday, sparking fears that his career may now be over.

O’Neill had previously stated that the Danish international was nearing a return to first-team action.

Live TV revelation catches manager off guard

The former Leicester City shot-stopper has missed the Scottish Premiership club’s last three league fixtures.

He had been receiving pain-killing injections to play through a shoulder issue originally sustained on international duty with Denmark a year ago.

“I must admit I was surprised at the severity of it,” said the Celtic manager.

“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.”

A breakdown in communication

The 74-year-old admitted he was taken aback by the public nature of the medical update.

“I didn’t think that Kasper was going to announce it,” O’Neill revealed.

“I didn’t hear it first hand, but I heard it second hand, and obviously I would have preferred to have heard it myself.”

The club’s medical staff were already aware that recent scans painted a bleaker picture than initially expected.

Playing through the pain barrier

Despite the severity of the issue, the veteran goalkeeper continued to train in a limited capacity as recently as Friday.

His performances had drawn scrutiny in recent weeks following a string of high-profile errors.

The Dane scored an unfortunate own goal during Celtic’s Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen and conceded twice in a heavy 4-1 loss against Stuttgart.

Schmeichel then suffered a bad reaction to a recent injection after sitting out a 2-2 draw with Old Firm rivals Rangers.

Sympathy for injury struggles

Despite the miscommunication, the Celtic boss offered sympathy for his player’s predicament.

“We’ve all played with injuries,” the former Nottingham Forest midfielder reflected.

“I’ve been guilty of that myself, a hundred-odd years ago, trying to play through an injury to play in a European Cup final.”

Schmeichel now faces a grueling 12-month rehabilitation period, raising significant doubts over whether he will ever play professional football again.