BUG: read_excel failing to check older xlrd versions properly 
- [ ] closes #38955
- [ ] tests added / passed
- [ ] Ensure all linting tests pass, see [here](https://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/dev/development/contributing.html#code-standards) for how to run them
- [ ] whatsnew entry

Probably should be in 1.2.1 given that this occurred after the deprecation of the xlrd engine in 1.2. 
cc @rhshadrach 
