Chris Richards will not play in the final U.S. tuneup before the World Cup, coach Mauricio Pochettino said Friday, raising doubts about the top defender’s availability for the start of the tournament next week.
“He’s training [and making progress] but still he’s not ready to compete and to play” against Germany on Saturday at Chicago’s Solder Field, Pochettino said.
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Richards has not played since damaging two ligaments in his left ankle on May 17, Crystal Palace‘s penultimate Premier League match. He missed the league finale and the UEFA Conference League final before reporting to U.S. camp in the Atlanta area.
As expected, Richards did not travel with the delegation to Charlotte for the 3-2 victory over Senegal last Sunday. The aim was to have him available for the Germany friendly, but with Pochettino ruling him out, the U.S. will reassess the situation when the team relocates to Southern California on Sunday ahead of the Group D opener next Friday against Paraguay.
“We have after that game the possibility in the next few days to assess him and see his ankle’s evolution, and then to make a decision, but at the moment, he’s still doing his recovery,” Pochettino said.
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FIFA allows changes to a 26-man roster until 24 hours before a team’s first match. The replacement must come from the 55-man provisional roster. (The U.S. did not release that list.) Vancouver’s Tristan Blackmon and Toronto’s Walker Zimmerman are possible candidates, though Pochettino could opt for a non-defender to fill out the roster.
The U.S. is hoping it doesn’t reach that point.
If “this is the final of the World Cup, maybe [he] can play, but the advice of the medical [staff] is not to play,” Pochettino said.
Pochettino also said his staff was under the impression two weeks ago that Richards might play in the Conference League final against Spain‘s Rayo Vallecano — a sign he would be ready for the World Cup. He remained on the bench for the 1-0 victory in Leipzig, Germany.
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“We had information suggesting he might play in that final … but the timeline kept dragging on,” he said. “Ultimately, we had to make a [World Cup roster] decision on whether he was fit to compete. … We had to decide whether to include a player who hadn’t been competing.”
Against Senegal, Pochettino started Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Alex Freeman in central defense, with Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest as wing backs. Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty and Joe Scally entered at the start of the second half.
Pochettino made 10 changes at halftime and 11 overall.
Regarding player availability and the lineup against Germany, Pochettino said, “We have a few things that we need to assess today in training and then we will decide tomorrow. A few players are not going to be involved,” in part because 11 substitutes are allowed.
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As far as other injuries, Pochettino was coy.
“If we have some advice that some players maybe cannot compete tomorrow, we will do what the performance and medical staff” recommends, he added.
