Chris Richards' Ankle Injury Worsens, Threatening World Cup 2026 Participation

Ahead of the United States men's national team squad being announced on May 26, Chris Richards ' ankle injury is worse than feared. The Crystal Palace defender initially went off during Palace's draw against Brentford  on Sunday, and manager Oliver Glasner hoped that it was a minor twisted ankle, but he has now been ruled out for the final day of Premier League action, where Palace will face Arsenal .

Glasner revealed that Richards has torn two ligaments in his ankle and that the ankle is still swollen four days after suffering the injury as a Europa Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano looms on Wednesday (watch live on Paramount+ ).

"Chris Richards will miss the Arsenal game and it's now 50-50 for us whether he can play in the final in Leipzig. He tore two ligaments in his ankle. It's stable but quite swollen," Glasner said about the condition of his center back.

With Richards' importance for club and country , his fitness is something that will be watched, especially since he previously missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for the USMNT due to an injury. A player who has taken a step forward for Palace as the club are in search of major trophies in back-to-back seasons under Glasner, Richards has appeared in 49 games in all competitions this season, scoring twice.

That's the most that any American has played for a Premier League club this season and part of why he's expected to be one of the leaders among the USMNT defenders under Mauricio Pochettino. While the injury isn't expected to sideline Richards for the World Cup, fitness could become a concern with the USMNT kicking off group stage play on June 12. While there are friendlies against Senegal and Germany ahead of that, if he doesn't feature in the Conference League final, Richards won't have played since May 17, and if he doesn't come into the USMNT camp at full fitness, he'll need to knock off the rust while the defense already has questions about who the starters will be.

Join the Conversation comments

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/usmnt-defender-chris-richards-ankle-injury-updated-2026-fifa-world-cup/)._