United States defender Chris Richards is a doubt for the upcoming World Cup after being ruled out of the final pre-tournament friendly against Germany due to an ankle injury. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Friday that the Crystal Palace centre-back is not yet ready to play, with further assessments needed to determine his availability for the tournament.
Richards suffered the injury in Palace's second-to-last Premier League match against Brentford, with manager Oliver Glasner later revealing torn ligaments in the ankle. He missed the season finale against Arsenal and was an unused substitute in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano. Despite earlier optimism from Glasner that Richards could feature in the European final, his recovery has taken longer than expected.
Pochettino expressed frustration at the conflicting timelines, noting that he had hoped Richards might be fit for the friendly against Senegal or Germany. Instead, the defender has been limited to individual rehabilitation work, only rejoining team training on Wednesday for light exercises. The USMNT boss stressed that no player will be risked unless fully fit, leaving Richards's participation in the World Cup opener against Paraguay on 12 June in doubt.
The USMNT have until 11 June to make any medical changes to their 26-man squad, which includes five centre-backs to provide cover. Pochettino acknowledged the challenge of integrating a player who has been out for over a month, but remains hopeful that Richards can still play a part in the tournament.
