Chris Richards is not yet ready to take the field for the U.S. men’s national team, adding continuous worry to his FIFA World Cup status.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino ruled Richards out of Saturday’s final World Cup tuneup against Germany as he continues to recover from torn ankle ligaments. Richards did dress in Crystal Palace’s Conference League Final showdown with Rayo Vallecano on May 27 but has not featured overall since May 17 in all competitions.
Richards suffered the injury in a 2-2 draw against Brentford and has not played in the last three matches overall for club and country.
Pochettino admitted that a decision on his long-term status this summer will need to come soon.
“He’s still not ready to compete and play,” Pochettino said Friday in his prematch press conference. “I think we are going to have that opportunity in the next few days to assess him and see his ankle, and then to make a decision.
“We are never going to take a decision to play with some player that [has a] minimum risk,” Pochettino added. “We prefer to not take [a] risk. That’s why all of the players that are going to start, or players that’s going to come from the bench, it’s because they are healthy, and they are 100% fit to play.”
Although Richards did not play for Oliver Glasner’s squad in Leipzig on May 27, he did return to training in the days prior and was available if needed. However, the severity of Richards’ ankle seems a lot worse than previously reported, which forced the 26-year-old to miss the USMNT’s 3-2 friendly victory over Senegal on Sunday.
Pochettino voiced his frustration with Crystal Palace, based off the information he received from the Premier League club prior to Richards’ arrival into camp.
“There was a line of information where we were thinking that he could play that final against Rayo Vallecano in Conference League,” Pochettino said during the press conference in Spanish. “He was on the bench of subs, you remember? After that, [we thought] he could maybe be [involved] against Senegal. In the end, the timelines [are] lengthening and [it] angers me a bit. I’m not happy, because we know Chris Richards is an important player. Of course we all know it.”
Should Richards not be available for the World Cup, it would leave a major hole in the USMNT’s backline heading into the tournament. Captain and veteran defender Tim Ream brings the most experience in the centerback corps while Miles Robinson, Mark McKenzie, and Auston Trusty would then compete to start with Ream in the heart of the USMNT’s defense.
Pochettino isn’t set to rule Richards out of contention just yet, but knows time is of the essence in terms of solidifying any final roster decisions before the USMNT’s group stage opener on June 12.
“In the end, we can hope that Chris can be there,” Pochettino said. “But in the end, we’re going to find ourselves who’s coming without competing [for a month] and after, we have to make the decision if he’s in form to compete or not. And there’s not a lot of time [until] the World Cup.”