31-year-old makes heroic return one-year after Newcastle United cameo v Arsenal and 'retirement' U-turn
It’s that time of year again, Loris Karius is back playing football for the first time since leaving Newcastle United.
Karius was released by Newcastle last summer and remained a free agent until joining Schalke in January. On February 28, the 31-year-old goalkeeper made his Schalke debut in a 1-0 win over Preußen Münster in the Bundesliga 2.
Karius was named man of the match as he kept a debut clean sheet for the German second-tier side.
It comes almost exactly a year since his previous competitive appearance in a 4-1 defeat for Newcastle against Arsenal. And that match came almost exactly a year after his Newcastle debut in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
Three matches in two years, all coming a year apart. But this time could be different for Karius as he looks set to remain in the Schalke side rather than just being involved in one-off match cameos as he was at Newcastle.
Sky Germany have reported that Karius is now Schalke’s new ‘number one’ ahead of Justin Heekeren. It was a tactical choice rather than any injury or suspension-related switch which had previously seen Karius thrown in for Newcastle.
“I have been in that position before,” Karius said when asked about Heekeren dropping out of the side. “It feels terrible, and I empathize.
“Football always moves on, and there will always be the next opportunity for him.”
After his Schalke debut, Karius took to Instagram to post an image of himself celebrating along with the caption: “Back doing what I love 🙌🏻Never give up 👊🏼.”
Newcastle pair Jacob Murphy and Mark Gillespie both responded to Karius with positive ‘emoji’ reactions.
Loris Karius’ return comes after contemplating retirement
During his spell as a free agent earlier this season, Karius spoke about considering retirement at just 31.
Prior to joining Schalke, Karius said: “If you’ve been out for as long as I have then you obviously have to consider retirement. I haven’t made a decision yet because there’s no need to. I’m still fit. I still have all the potential and the ability.
“But if a door doesn’t open then I have to be honest and say to myself, ‘Listen. I’ve got many other things that I can pursue that excite me; that I enjoy and put effort into.’ I don’t think it would hit me that hard because I’ve already been going through this process over the last few years.
“At the moment, I am not contracted to any club, but I have not finished my career yet. If the right offer comes in, I would like to keep playing football.
“I believe I still possess the necessary qualities to be a good goalkeeper. However, if an offer does not suit me, I won’t agree just for the sake of playing somewhere.”
Now retirement is no longer on Karius’ agenda as he is back and set to play regularly for Schalke and earn a new contract. He is currently on a short-term deal at the German club which is set to expire in June.