Crystal Palace's hopes and dreams of winning the League Cup came to an end on Tuesday night as Oliver Glasner's men were knocked out of the competition after losing on penalties to Premier League leaders, Arsenal. Palace's Chris Richards was substituted in the second half, however, and an update has been provided following his bizarre off-the-ball incident.
Maxence Lacroix, for as good as he's been this season, had an evening to forget: the French defender took the final touch of a penalty box scramble which resulted in the north Londoners opening the scoring with just ten minutes left of regulation time.
After plenty of pushing and prodding, the reigning holders of the FA Cup then equalised with just seconds on the clock. Skipper Marc Guehi reacted the quickest after a ball in from Adam Wharton was nodded into his vicinity and Kepa Arrizabalaga was unable to prevent the shot. Lacroix, however, missed the deciding spot-kick and Arsenal reigned triumphant.
Chris Richards Injury: Update Emerges After Off-The-Ball Incident
chris richards
The American, who is set to play under Mauricio Pochettino at the 2026 World Cup in the summer of 2026, was substituted for Will Hughes in the 75th minute – five minutes after he initially went down and an update on the bizarre off-the-ball incident has now emerged.
As seen in the footage below, Richards attempted to get his head onto Martin Odegaard's delivery when he pulled up injured. On ITV commentary on the all-London clash, Sam Matterface said: "He landed awkwardly more than anything else."
Arsenal's Norwegian skipper attempted to deliver a ball into the box and Gabriel Jesus wanted to get his head to it. The Brazilian may have, but Richards' intervention was enough to put him off, and he squandered the chance to grab the opener – but the Palace man instantly winced in pain and eventually slumped to the Emirates turf. His teammates called over the referee.
Not long after, Palace's physio team were called onto the pitch, and they attempted to stop the heavy bleeding from his foot. As the footage of the incident was replayed, Lee Dixon added: "I'm unsure," Matterface responded: "Someone landed on his toe? That could be a possibility."
Richards – who has played all but seven minutes of his side's 2025/26 Premier League campaign – had his right boot removed before being stretchered off by the Palace backroom staff. He was then spotted watching from the penalty shoot-out from the dugout on crutches.
chris richards stretchered
In the aftermath of crashing out of the League Cup, Glasner claimed that Richards needed stitches. "He had a knock on his foot, and it had to be stitched. It doesn't look so bad. I don't know if it's possible for him on Sunday, but hopefully, in the New Year, he's back because, of course, we'd struggle a little bit (without him).
"He's one of our best headers and, to take him off, Will Hughes comes in as we didn't have a tall defender on the bench," he continued as he looks towards his side's next fixtures: Tottenham Hotspur travel to Selhurst Park on December 28 before they host Fulham at the turn of the year.
How Pivotal is Richards to Glasner's Palace
chris richards palace
At the time of writing, it is unknown how long Richards – signed from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 – will be sidelined for. But any game without the Alabama-born centre-back will be an issue for Glasner and his entourage given how brilliant he has been alongside Guehi and Lacroix since their curtain-raiser in August.
The Selhurst Park faithful have become accustomed to seeing Glasner opting for a three-at-the-back system. Richards, as a result, has played a lot of minutes since the campaign got underway (2,122 in all competitions) and he'll need to rest up before rushing back to proceedings.
Richards vs Guehi vs Lacroix - 25/26 Premier League Stats
Statistic
Minutes
Goals/Assists
Pass Success Rate (%)
Aerials Won per Game
Tackles per Game
Interceptions per Game
Overall Rating
A highly athletic defender for Palace, his strong aerial ability (as referenced by Glasner himself) will be a sore miss as the Eagles look to enter 2026 with a win against fellow capital club Fulham. Those of a Palace persuasion will be hoping that Richards' knock is minor and that he'll be back on the grass in no time.
All statistics per WhoScored – correct as of 24/12/2025