It’s unclear whether or not the former Aston Villa man would have been the chosen one if Schmeichel hadn’t been hit with a bug
08:44, 03 Mar 2026
Kasper Schmeichel’s jersey hanging inside the away dressing room at Ibrox
Celtic’s kit team were planning for Kasper Schmeichel to be in the squad for their clash with Rangers – moments before the Dane was struck down by illness.
The 38-year-old was in a battle with glove rival Viljami Sinisalo to start the game at Ibrox with the Finland No.1 getting the call. Footage from Celtic TV now shows Schmeichel’s jersey hanging inside the Ibrox dressing room.
It’s unclear whether the former Aston Villa man would have been the chosen one if Schmeichel hadn’t been hit with a bug at the most inopportune of times.
Sinisalo started against Stuttgart and impressed, but could do little to stop Youssef Chermiti’s deadly double before Celtic’s rousing fightback.
The Denmark international – itching to finish his career with a flourish as his country’s goalkeeper if they reach the World Cup – has endured a torrid season which has been beset by a series of high-profile gaffes and boos from his own fans.
Schmeichel has been slapped with withering claims about his physical condition and concerns over a long-term shoulder injury with onlookers fearing his deterioration is causing Celtic more harm than good.
Now it appears Sinisalo is between the sticks and Martin O’Neill will provide an update on the Leicester legend’s status ahead of their crunch clash with Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
But when questioned after the game whether the veteran goalkeeper could return in time for Wednesday night’s clash with Aberdeen, O’Neill said: “Should be, should be, yeah. Should be available for selection. Yeah, so we’ll see.”
Prior to the game, the Irishman said: “He was poorly this morning. We really thought we’d just leave that there if that’s the case because I thought that young Sinisalo had sone really well for us on Thursday.”
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