Overview
- Palace manager Oliver Glasner confirmed on Thursday that Chris Richards tore two ligaments in his left ankle, will miss Sunday’s match with Arsenal and is a 50/50 doubt for next week’s Conference League final in Leipzig.
- Richards missed an open training session, was later seen wearing strapping on his ankle, and is receiving intensive treatment aimed at reducing swelling and speeding recovery.
- Richards has been a defensive mainstay this season with among the highest minutes played for Palace, making his absence a significant loss to the starting backline.
- Teammates Chadi Riad, Maxence Lacroix and Borna Sosa appeared to have minor knocks after the Brentford game but were pictured back at training and are not reported as ruled out.
- Palace must now manage squad rotation between Selhurst Park and Leipzig while monitoring Richards’ recovery, a situation that also creates uncertainty around his availability for the U.S. national team ahead of the summer fixtures.