Chris Richards announces injury will keep him out of World Cup
Crystal Palace and United States men's national team center back Chris Richards announced on Tuesday that he's been ruled out of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury he suffered in September.
"Gutted that this injury has ruled me out of the world cup, but I know that the boys will go crazy regardless," Richards said in an Instagram post. "Will be rooting for y’all the whole way. Go out and make history."
Richards' announcement is hardly a surprise. Ahead of Palace's matchup with West Ham on Sunday, Palace manager Patrick Vieira gave an uninspiring update on the American's recovery.
"Chris has started doing some work outside, but he didn’t do any kind of training with the team yet," Vieira said. "What is important is about him physically, there is a step he has to go through and at the moment he hasn’t done any kind of training with the squad.
"So the decision is not going to be mine but with the doctor, we have to decide as a club what is best for the club."
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The timing of Richards' injury is unfortunate, but now he has two months to get healthy and prepare for the second half of the Premier League season, where he'll have the opportunity to break into Vieira's starting XI. There's also no doubt he'll be in consideration for future tournaments, including the 2026 World Cup, as he's widely considered the most talented young center back in the player pool.
Richards' injury opens the door for another center back to make the roster. The natural choice would be Tim Ream — the only other American center back playing in the Premier League — but Gregg Berhalter hasn't called the veteran defender up since September 2021 despite how well he's played for Fulham F.C. this season. Could this be Ream's window back in? Would he even accept the invitation?
USMNT backline preview
Mark McKenzie is another option for Berhalter to consider. McKenzie's team, KRC Genk, are the No. 1 seed in the Belgian First Division, and he's a regular first-team player. McKenzie was also the injury replacement for Richards during the September window, so it would make sense if he gets the call again.
We'll know the answer for sure when the USMNT reveal their roster on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
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