John Dorton / ISI Photos / USSF / Getty ImagesMay 21, 2026 5:09 pm EDT Updated U.S. men’s national team defender Chris Richards is not expected to miss the World Cup despite having suffered two torn ligaments in his left ankle only three weeks before the start of the competition, sources have told The Athletic.Richards’ club manager, Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, revealed the extent of the injury on Thursday, but multiple sources briefed on Richards’ injury say that while a return for next week’s Conference League final may be “a day or two” too soon, they insist that the center back will be “good for the World Cup, 100%.”Richards, 26, appeared to twist his ankle in a substitute appearance for Palace against Brentford on Sunday. He received medical treatment on the pitch but finished the game, having come on after an hour. Glasner has ruled Richards out of the club’s final Premier League fixture, which is against newly crowned champion Arsenal, and said it is “50-50″ whether he will be able to return for Wednesday’s Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.
“He tore two ligaments in his ankle,” Glasner said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “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.“He is in from sunrise until sunset having treatments and everything we can do that reduces the swelling, 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.”Richards is a vital member of the U.S defense, which opens its World Cup against Paraguay on June 12. After the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup roster on Tuesday, the U.S. plays Senegal (May 31) and Germany (June 6) in a final set of pre-tournament friendlies.
