Rehab wasn’t particularly fun, Richards said, but it was necessary. The initial diagnosis said he would be day to day, but he knew otherwise. From the start, he knew it would be “two or three weeks” of off-field work to get where he needed to go.
“I think with ankles, it can be predictable,” he said. “Palace wanted me to potentially be available for the Conference League final, which I understand because it’s a final. It took me two days to get (to the U.S.) as well, so maybe it blew up a little bit over the flight, but, for me, I expected it. I’ve had ankle injuries before, and there wasn’t really any setback. It was just a case of slowing down, then seeing what it’s like when you get on the pitch. It sometimes could take a little bit longer than expected.”
That’s how USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino saw it at least. Ahead of the the team’s send-off game against Germany, the Argentine expressed his frustration with Richards’ situation. He had received mixed signals about the defender’s health, he said, and the longer those signals were mixed, the more worried he was about the World Cup.
Pochettino said the USMNT had been working off information that suggested Richards might return as early as Crystal Palace’s Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano, where he was ultimately only available from the bench. From there, the hope shifted to Senegal, then Germany. Each time, though, the timeline moved back.
That, Pochettino admitted, has been frustrating, particularly given Richards’ importance to the team.
“What I was saying was based on the information that we were given, and sometimes there wasn’t clarity,” Pochettino said. “In the end, we can hope that Chris can be there, but we’re going to find ourselves with a player who’s coming without competing (for a month). After we have to make the decision if he’s in form to compete or not, and there’s not a lot of time in the World Cup.”
Richards, meanwhile, has remained optimistic throughout the process. He says he’s repeatedly told Pochettino that he wasn’t concerned.
“Every time they’ve asked me, I told him I’m good,” Richards said. “Even when I first got in the camp, I said I’m good. Now, I think they’ve seen the progression over the last few weeks, and they’ve definitely seen me personally. I think I look good on the pitch now. Every time, I tell them I’m ready, so whatever they decide on Friday, I’ll back them, but I want to be in the field.”
Leave a Reply