IRVINE, Calif. – The U.S. men’s national team has been gearing up for the World Cup with an array of intriguing storylines, including career opportunities and nuptials, but as their opening match against Paraguay approaches this Friday, the focus has shifted from personal milestones to the task at hand. While the atmosphere in the camp has been as bright as the Southern California sun, one concern has lingered — until now.
Chris Richards, widely considered the USMNT’s most crucial player for this World Cup, has returned to the field and is set to play at SoFi Stadium in just two days.
“I’m ready,” Richards confirmed on Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time since joining the USMNT camp on May 29. “It’s a World Cup, so I was going to make myself ready no matter what. I’m feeling good. There’s a bit of swelling, but nothing that some tape can’t handle.”
Richards suffered an ankle injury on May 17 while playing for Crystal Palace and hasn’t seen action since, missing the club’s final two matches of the season — including their victorious UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany. He also sat out the U.S. team’s 3-2 victory over Senegal on May 31 and their 2-1 defeat to Germany on Saturday. Richards only returned to full training on Monday, dedicating himself to being fit for Friday’s match.
“When I first got injured, I was pretty devastated and feared the worst,” Richards admitted. “I could only relax after receiving the diagnosis. My ankle was really swollen after the game, and I left the field in a boot and crutches. But once I had the diagnosis, I knew I had to do whatever it took to be ready for the first game.”
Richards’ teammates have been witness to his recovery journey, having waited 10 days since his arrival at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, to finally train alongside him.
“He was doing everything possible to make sure he was in the best shape possible coming into this week and building up to the first game,” Mark McKenzie, who could start alongside him at center back on Friday, said. “To see that live, to see the amount of work he’s put in, whether it’s on the field and working with a lot of the performance coaches, trying to get that ankle exposed to as many different actions as possible and then off the field, we’re talking about recovery. We’re talking about every modality you can possibly think of and modalities you probably didn’t even know about, but doing everything possible to get himself as fit as he could be for this game.”
Though head coach Mauricio Pochettino complained about playing catch-up on the status of Richards’ injury on Friday, saying he and his staff lacked clarity from Palace on the situation, Richards said the injury trended exactly as he expected.
“I think with ankles, it can kind of be unpredictable,” he said. “I think Palace wanted me to potentially be available for the Conference League final, which I understand. It’s a final. it took me two days to get here, as well so maybe it blew up a little bit over the flight but for me, I expected it. I’ve had an ankle injury before and there wasn’t really any setback. It was just a case of getting swelling down and seeing what it’s like being on the pitch and it just sometimes could take a little longer than expected.”
Richards said he finally felt comfortable last week, after taking part in individual sessions near the team and eventually doing some work on the ball with his teammates.
“I think the first time I really realized that I could be 100% for Friday was probably last week,” he said. “A lot of massages, a lot of ice, a lot of compression, things like that but once I was finally on the pitch, it felt good. it felt good and I think that was the main thing. Again, like I said earlier, I can play with pain as long as functionally, I’m good, that’s the most important thing.”
Pochettino and his staff will ultimately have the final say but Richards said he has not been told he is under a minutes restriction, or that he will need to only play select games through fitness issues.
“I wouldn’t put myself in a position if I didn’t think I could do everything 100%,” he said. “They haven’t told me anything. Again, if I’m making myself available, they can trust me to play at 100% … I’ve done full practices the last few days. I think y’all have seen the intensity of our practices. They’re not light so I feel good and no reaction to it and again, I’m confident for what’s to come.”
Richards hopes that the ankle injury will not impact his ability to play at the World Cup and the U.S. roster is expected to be unaltered at this point, though participating national teams have until 24 hours before their first game to make changes in case of fitness issues. The center back had every possible incentive to work as hard as he did and not only because he missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar through injury.
“Not just that but also it’s a World Cup on home soil,” Richards noted. “Any World Cup would mean the world to me, especially being able to play in front of America and that’s my number one thing. For me, I knew that I had to do whatever it took to be here and hopefully I can put on a show on Friday.”
