USMNT’s Chris Richards has torn ligaments in ankle, putting World Cup status in doubt | USA

US national team center-back Chris Richards has “two torn ligaments in his ankle”, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said on Thursday, casting uncertainty on the stalwart defender’s status for this summer’s World Cup.

The club had said Richards “was in discomfort” late in last weekend’s match against Brentford, which he entered in the 61st minute.

“Chris will miss the Arsenal game [on Sunday] as well, and it’s now 50/50 for him and for us if he can play in the [Conference League] final [on Wednesday] in Leipzig,” Glasner said on Thursday. “He tore two ligaments in his ankle. I think it’s stable, but quite swollen, and we have to deal with the swelling. He has to get back on the pitch to be available, and it takes time.”

Richards has been ever-present for Palace this season, logging 2,827 league minutes and making 45 starts for the club in all competitions. After Sunday’s match against title-winners Arsenal, Palace face Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday in the Conference League final, their first European final in 27 years.

“He is in from sunrise until sunset having treatments and everything we can do that reduces the swelling,” Glasner added, “and of course we have a great medical department, so we will give our best and he will give his best – and then let’s see if we can get it done.”

The Foot and Ankle Centre in Australia gives varying prognoses for recovering from torn ankle ligaments. A grade 1 injury would only sideline someone for up to a couple weeks, though Glasner’s description of the swelling suggests something a bit thornier. A grade 2 tear has a recovery timeline of four to six weeks, while a grade 3 can require surgery and a recovery timeline of 2 to 3 months.

Richards is of even greater importance to Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for the World Cup, which begins in three weeks. The 26-year-old has cemented himself as arguably the only sure-thing center-back in the US men’s pool at present, earning 13 caps since the start of 2025 and being named the program’s men’s player of the year in January.

Center-back remains a thin area, with Pochettino having only given four center-backs at least 500 minutes across his 24 matches in charge of the USMNT. Tim Ream, Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie are the other relative mainstays in recent months, while Auston Trusty earned plaudits from Pochettino after his 89-minute shift against Portugal in the March international window.

The program still awaits an international decision from Augsburg defender Noahkai Banks, with the 19-year-old Hawaiian still mulling a decision between the US and Germany. Banks has yet to debut for either program, but represented the US at the youth international levels.

Pochettino will announce his squad on 26 May. Richards was likely always bound to be a slightly late arrival to World Cup camp given Palace’s advancement in the Conference League, with most players expected to report as soon as Monday.

The US will play their final pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal (on 31 May) and Germany (6 June), putting Richards in a race against time to be available for either tune-up. The co-hosts open their group stage against Paraguay on 12 June in Los Angeles.