Chris Richards trains with U.S. team with World Cup deadline looming
CHICAGO (AP) — Chris Richards joined the U.S. for training on Friday in Chicago in a positive sign for the top American defender as he tries to make it back in time for the World Cup.
Richards tore two ligaments in his left ankle while playing for England's Crystal Palace on May 17. He has been ruled out for Saturday's friendly against Germany, but the U.S. is holding out hope that he might be able to play in its World Cup opener next week against Paraguay.
“Chris Richards is on the right path to coming back and being completely with the squad,” midfielder Weston McKennie said. “I think everyone trusts his body and what he feels and the coaching staff as well. He’s an important piece of the group, (with) his energy, his leadership on and off the field. And so obviously we’re just all behind him and can’t wait to have him back and out with the group."
During the 15-minute portion of practice that was open to the media, the 26-year-old Richards showed no signs of any issues as he warmed up with the rest of the team at Endeavor Health Performance Center, the practice home for Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire.
Richards, who missed the 2022 World Cup because of a hamstring injury, is considered the best central defender for the United States.
“His training and his evolution is well, but he still is not ready to compete and to play,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said before practice.
Pochettino and the U.S. are running out of time when it comes to making a decision on Richards. They can replace injured players on their 26-man roster until Thursday.
“Maybe this is the final of the World Cup, maybe he can play,” Pochettino said of Saturday's game at Soldier Field, “but the advice of the medical area is not to play.”
The U.S. is coming off a 3-2 victory over Senegal on Sunday. Following its matchup with Paraguay, the U.S. also has Group D games against Australia on June 19 and Turkey on June 25.
Germany also is playing its last friendly before its World Cup opener on June 14 against Curacao. It also has Group E games against the Ivory Coast on June 20 and Ecuador on June 25.
“We’ll be going into this game with a lot of players that haven’t played against them yet, and players that have,” McKennie said, “so I think the new energy, the new style, the new, just circumstances in general leading into a World Cup, I think it’s going to be a great test for us.”
The U.S. has 13 players who were on Gregg Berhalter's roster for the 2022 World Cup, including 11 who made an appearance in Qatar. Berhalter was fired 10 months into his second stint as U.S. coach, but he took over the Fire when he was hired as head coach and director of football in October 2024.
Berhalter got a chance to catch up with his son, Sebastian, a midfielder on the U.S. team, and some of his former players with the Americans practicing at the Fire's facility.
“When I got them, they were young. They were babies and they were just learning what it takes to be a professional athlete,” Gregg Berhalter said. “And now when I see them, they're men. They have kids. They're adults, and they know exactly what it means to maintain themselves as professionals. And it's an amazing thing to see.”
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