Kasper Schmeichel says up to three more surgeries may be needed

Kasper Schmeichel says his damaged shoulder may still need one, two or maybe three more surgeries. The 39-year-old Celtic keeper said Friday that the recovery is still moving and that his goal remains getting back to playing.

Schmeichel's Friday update

"I’ve had one surgery, which was an exploratory surgery and a clean-up surgery," Schmeichel said to Celtic TV on Friday. He added that "there is a lot of damage in there, there’s a lot of infection and I’m going to need another one, two or maybe three surgeries apparently."

That is a bigger step than the uncertainty he described in March, when he said his career could be over. The shoulder problem has now already taken him through one operation, and his own timeline suggests the treatment still has more stages ahead.

Manchester specialist search

Schmeichel said he has spent time travelling to get opinions from the world’s leading shoulder specialists. He said he found a really good surgeon in Manchester and spent time there to see if he can get back to playing; that remains his ultimate goal.

"It’s a strange reality at the moment. It’s been a tough couple of months trying to wrap my head around it," he said. He also said he has spent time away with his kids and his wife while trying to adjust to "the reality of the fight I am up against now."

Career limits

The difficult part is not just the surgery count. Schmeichel said, "That’s without question the hardest thing. Obviously, I look back on my career and I’m extremely grateful for everything I’ve done but I never thought I would be in this position."

For now, the key fact is simple: he has already had one operation, and he believes more are likely. What happens next will be shaped by the shoulder specialists he has seen, the infection inside the joint and whether the next procedures get him closer to playing again.