- Chris Richards injury keeping him in doubt for World Cup
- The ankle injury was sustained against Brentford
- Pochettino frustrated at Palace for limited warning
Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards’ fitness is uncertain ahead of the World Cup after he was unable to participate in the United States’ final pre-tournament friendly due to an ankle injury.
United States coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Richards would miss their friendly against Germany on 6 June, and doubts remain over whether he will be fit for the opening match of the World Cup. The US will face Paraguay on June 12 to kick off the World Cup.
Richards is their first-choice centre-back and has previously expressed his great pleasure at being able to participate in the summer tournament. The 26-year-old injured ligaments in his ankle against Brentford on May 17 and was an unused substitute in the Conference League final despite rumours he was fit to play.
Pochettino expresses frustration with Richards Injury
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the United States’ final friendly before the World Cup, Pochettino expressed his frustration at Richards’ injury:
“When we decided on our final list [roster], we thought that Chris would be able to play in the final of Conference League because we had done the list before that and we had some information that we thought he would be able to play.
“After that, we thought he would able to pay versus Senegal. And then today, the information we got was that his injury would take even more time. And I got a little annoyed and I am not happy because Chris Richards is an important player, and we all know that.”
The Argentinian appeared to aim his comments at Palace’s lack of clarity on Richard’s position: “Maybe the information that we had was not the information that we should have used to make our best decision. In the end we are faced with a player for whom we are getting to our second game and he is not available.”
He ended by saying: “Ultimately, we can hope that Chris will be ready, but at the end we have to make a decision as to whether he is in shape or not.”
Criticisms against Palace are valid
Pochettino’s frustrations at Palace are valid, with Richards sustaining an injury in the tie against Brentford and remaining on the pitch despite the match being a dead rubber for Palace.
The extent of Richard’s injury was also kept largely unclear by Oliver Glasner and Palace, likely to prevent opponents Rayo Vallecano from knowing who was in the starting lineup. Up until the day of the final, it was unclear whether Richards or Adam Wharton was fit enough to start.
Although with Richards on the bench for the final, it is likely he made the final call not to appear on the pitch to prioritise his chances of maintaining fitness for the World Cup.
