Chris Richards will miss the United States’ final friendly match ahead of the World Cup against Germany, as confirmed by head coach Mauricio Pochettino during a press briefing on Friday.
The defender’s availability for the World Cup is now questionable while Pochettino awaits further evaluations.
“He’s still not fit to compete and play,” Pochettino remarked on Friday. “I believe we will have the chance in the upcoming days to assess him and examine his ankle, after which we can make a decision.”
Richards sustained an ankle injury during Crystal Palace’s penultimate Premier League match against Brentford. The precise details of the injury remain unclear, but Palace’s manager Oliver Glasner indicated that he had suffered torn ligaments. Consequently, Richards missed the team’s final league game against Arsenal and did not participate in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano. Prior to the match against Arsenal, Glasner had suggested that Richards might be available for the European final, which had initially offered a more optimistic outlook regarding his fitness for the World Cup—supported by reports suggesting confidence in his availability from Richards’s camp.
On Friday, Pochettino expressed that he believed Richards was nearing match readiness, noting Glasner’s prior comments about the defender potentially playing in the Conference League final.
Now, Pochettino and his coaching staff must make a crucial decision regarding the readiness of a key player as the recovery period narrows ahead of the group stage opener on June 12 against Paraguay.
“There was a stream of information suggesting he could play in the final against Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League,” Pochettino stated in Spanish on Friday. “He was on the substitutes’ bench, remember? Following that, we thought he might be involved against Senegal. Ultimately, the timelines are extending, and it frustrates me a bit. I’m not pleased, as we recognize Chris Richards is an essential player. We all know that.”
During the pre-World Cup training camp, Richards has been focusing on rehabilitation alone until a recent session at the National Training Center on Wednesday, when he joined his teammates on the field. While the rest engaged in standard pre-training stretching and rondos, Richards worked on a separate field with trainers, concentrating on resistance band exercises to enhance his lateral mobility.
“We will never take the risk of playing a player with even minimal risks,” Pochettino stated on Friday. “We prefer to avoid risks. That’s the reason why all players starting the match, or those coming off the bench, will be healthy and fully fit to compete.”
Potential Replacements for Richards
With Richards sidelined during last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Senegal, Mark McKenzie took his place at the center of the defensive trio. Tim Ream worked from the left side, while Alex Freeman provided additional support by dropping deeper in defensive situations and assisting in wider build-up phases.
The uncertainty surrounding Richards emphasizes the number of defenders Pochettino included in his 26-player roster, featuring five center-backs alongside a few wide defenders capable of playing centrally. This group has had ample opportunity to develop synergy and chemistry ahead of the tournament, reducing the necessity of a direct replacement for Richards if he cannot participate in the World Cup.
World Cup teams are permitted to make medically-related adjustments to their rosters until 24 hours before their first group-stage match. Pochettino has until June 11 to decide whether Richards will remain part of his tournament plans.
“In the end, we can hope that Chris can be there,” Pochettino said. “However, we will find ourselves with a player who hasn’t competed for a month, and we need to determine if he is in shape to compete. The time until the World Cup is limited.”
