Kasper Schmeichel ‘still injured’ from two Leicester City games

Kasper Schmeichel played 479 games for Leicester City, but the two league games he watched as an unused substitute “further hurt” the Dane.

Schmeichel was City’s number one for 11 years, spanning the most successful era in the club’s history, and rarely missed a game. But there are two league games for which he has yet to be selected for that rank, even two years after his departure.

The first game in which he was an unused substitute was in 2015 when City were struggling to stay in the Premier League. Schmeichel returned to fitness after a 12-match absence with a broken leg, but Nigel Pearson opted to keep Mark Schwarzer in goal at home to Hull, leaving the Dane on the bench.

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The second was in his final season at the club. In Watford’s penultimate away game of the campaign, Brendan Rodgers brought on Danny Ward, leaving Schmeichel among the substitutes, a precursor to the club’s decision to move their number one that summer.

On Gary Lineker’s The Rest is Football podcast, Schmeichel spoke about the first of those two matches. He said: “I waited so long to get back to the Premier League, then I got injured… I haven’t broken anything so far. Having to wait for this (to heal) was awful, watching from the sidelines while we were at the bottom of the table.

“Nigel brought in Mark Schwarzer for some experience and Mark came in and did well. I’m back to health with 11 games to go and we’re playing Hull at home. I expected to go straight back in. Nigel called me into his office to tell me I wasn’t playing and Mark was playing.

“I was beyond excited. I was physically harmed. I was angry. I was disappointed. I was finally able to contribute again, but I wasn’t allowed. I’ve only been on the bench twice for Leicester and those two times still hurt me.

“That one hurt especially. We drew 0-0 with Hull and Mark had a good game. I thought I wasn’t getting in.

“Nigel knew I was down, he wasn’t stupid and we were playing Tottenham. I’m not one to get nervous, but the nerves going into the final meeting where I knew he was going to pick the team, I was shaking.

“For me, there is nothing worse than not playing. You feel helpless. You are totally helpless. You can not do anything. You can’t do the job you know you can do.

“He put the starting line-up and I entered. He turned to me and said, “You! You’ve been moody all week, you better be now. I’ve never had any problems.”

Schmeichel will go for the second top-flight title of his career on Sunday when Anderlecht take on Antwerp in the final game of the season in Belgium. But Anderlecht face it starting on day three and must beat Antwerp while hoping Club Brugge lose to Cercle Brugge and Union SG fail to beat Genk.

What was your favorite Schmeichel moment at City? Let us know in the comments section below.