Frank McAvennie believes Celtic’s silence over Kasper Schmeichel’s injury situation points to a communication problem at the club, and has questioned why the news emerged the way it did rather than through an official statement from Parkhead.
Schmeichel has been absent for Celtic’s last four matches through illness and injury, and had already spent time as an unused substitute before that, with Viljami Sinisalo stepping in for the 1-0 win over Stuttgart. This week, speaking alongside his father Peter on CBS Sports, the goalkeeper revealed that his appearance against Hibernian in February could prove to be his last, with a torn bicep, torn rotator cuff, dislocated shoulder and torn labrum requiring two separate surgical procedures. The recovery timeline is estimated at up to twelve months, with Schmeichel turning 40 later this year.
Speaking on his Let Me Be Frank podcast, McAvennie said the moment he saw the interview his immediate thought was that the announcement should have come from Celtic rather than playing out the way it did. He felt it was wrong for Schmeichel to have been placed in that position, visibly emotional and discussing a potentially career-ending diagnosis while being interviewed by his own father on a broadcast platform. McAvennie described the club’s communication throughout as non-existent and said the whole episode was difficult to watch.
Former Celtic striker Simon Donnelly, also appearing on the podcast, said he felt Schmeichel had been put on the spot. He acknowledged that the goalkeeper appeared to have been managing the injury for some time, and drew a comparison to an ACL injury in terms of severity. He noted that Sinisalo had performed well since coming in, and suggested that playing while carrying a serious injury inevitably creates uncertainty in a goalkeeper’s mind.
McAvennie added that goalkeepers have no safety net when they make mistakes in a way that outfield players do, making the mental burden of playing injured even greater. Donnelly offered a blunt assessment of the outlook, and McAvennie closed by wishing Schmeichel well before predicting that Celtic would not be offering him a new contract regardless of his recovery.