Chris Richards looked set to take part in his first M23 Derby with rivals Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday but now the American defender could be set for a spell on the sidelines.
Richards missed Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw draw at Selhurst Park due to a back injury, manager Patrick Vieira confirmed postmatch. The U.S. men’s national team defender had enjoyed three-consecutive starts for the Eagles before missing Saturday’s match.
Richards helped Crystal Palace earn draws against Manchester United and Newcastle United before the Eagles fell 2-1 to the Red Devils on Feb. 4.
James Tomkins filled in for Richards in Vieira’s starting lineup and scored the equalizing goal in South London today. Richards’ immediate future is unknown with Crystal Palace seeking to snap a seven-match winless run in all competitions.
“We don’t know [how long Richards will be absent for] yet,” Vieira said. “He had his injury this morning, and we have to wait and see how long he will be.”
The former Bayern Munich defender has made nine combined appearances for Crystal Palace this season. He will be fighting to get back into a starting role, especially ahead of the USMNT’s March Concacaf Nations League schedule.
Crystal Palace visits Brentford on Feb. 18 before hosting Liverpool on Feb. 25. The Eagles sit in 12th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Well there is Chris Richards career summed up so far. USMNT needs to find more options at CB. Hopefully Jalen Neal and Brandon Craig continue to develop well in MLS. Would like to see Justen Glad start getting incorporated into the USMNT, Miazga brought back in, hopefully Miles will be back healthy and ready to play. Tim Ream is still in the equation for me.
McKenzie is having a good season as a locked in starter for the Belgian league leaders.
Oh yeah definitely. Trusty, CCV, McKenzie are all having good seasons. EPB has been up and down.
I’m with 2tone, those 3 are must haves the next few camps so they can get serious minutes together, and I would say that EPB needs to be there as well! We forget that EPB and Trusty can also play outside backs(remember EPB in Azteca), and Trusty is such an athlete man!
We’ve already seen Glad get a cap or two, he didn’t look like senior team material but some players are late bloomers ala Zimmerman, so you never know!
I think Glad should be considered for GC this summer if he’s having a good season but March when MLS is just starting up is too early to give him the maybe he’ll be a late bloomer cap.