USMNT's Chris Richards to miss Senegal friendly, leaving his World Cup status in doubt
· Yahoo Sports
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Chris Richards, the U.S. national team’s most important defender, will not travel to Charlotte for Sunday’s friendly against Senegal and remains questionable for the World Cup because of an ankle injury.
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Less than two weeks before the U.S. opener, coach Mauricio Pochettino said Saturday that the Crystal Palace center back will continue his rehabilitation routine at the national training center near Atlanta and continue undergoing evaluation leading to the June 6 friendly against Germany in Chicago.
“It's much better to stay here and plan to train and reevaluate next week,” Pochettino said.
The Americans will resume workouts in Fayetteville next week. The Germany game is the final test before they set up base camp in Irvine, California, ahead of the Group D opener June 12 vs. Paraguay at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.
Richards’ status will remain a source of anxiety for Pochettino and U.S. fans.
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Since Friday, Pochettino said he has asked top assisted Jesús Pérez 100 times “What do you think? What do you think? Which information [do] we have? The answer was ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait.’ Yes, it's too early. We need to see. The next few days are going to be key to see the possibility to be ready or not for the World Cup.”
Richards damaged two ligaments in his left ankle on May 17, Crystal Palace’s penultimate Premier League match. After missing the last game against Arsenal, he resumed training and traveled with the Eagles to Leipzig, Germany, for the UEFA Conference League final against Spain’s Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. He was in uniform but did not play in the 1-0 victory.
Richards arrived at U.S. camp Friday morning for medical evaluations and did not practice.
The best-case scenario is Richards is available for the Germany match. If not, Pochettino and his staff will need to decide whether they think he will be ready at any point in the group stage. The Americans will also face Australia on June 19 in Seattle and Türkiye on June 25 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
World Cup teams must submit their rosters to FIFA by Monday. Changes are permitted up to 24 hours before their opening match. A replacement must come from the 55-man provisional roster. The U.S. did not release its list, but at a thin position, there aren’t a lot of options. Vancouver’s Tristan Blackmon and Toronto’s Walker Zimmerman, a 2022 World Cup player, are probably the top candidates.
Richards has been expected to partner with Charlotte FC’s Tim Ream in central defense, with the possibility of a three-man alignment as well. The other rostered center backs are Celtic’s Auston Trusty, Toulouse’s Mark McKenzie and FC Cincinnati’s Miles Robinson.