Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Chris Richards will miss Crystal Palace’s Premier League clash at Southampton.
The Austrian boss confirmed in his pre-Saints press conference that the USA defender, who played the full 90 minutes in Palace’s 3-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham, will miss the trip to St Mary’s.
Richards – who featured for the US in their game against Canada over the international break – has played 17 times in the Premier League this season under Glasner.
“We will miss Chris Richards tomorrow. He is struggling a bit with his calf,” said Glasner.
“It doesn’t look very serious, so we expect him to be available against Brighton at the weekend. But tomorrow is too early.
“At the end of the game, he felt like he had a cramp in his calf. We thought it was cramp and this can happen very often after travelling, he played in LA with a nine-hour time difference and a 12-13-hour flight.
“It’s not a heavy injury but we know we can’t take any risks. If the muscle ruptures then he’s out for four to six weeks.
“That wouldn’t have been a big problem in March where we had two games but now we have seven in April and we want all the players available.
“Will Hughes is still banned, but all other players are fit and available.”
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