Chris Richards will miss Crystal Palace’s match against Arsenal this weekend, having damaged ligaments in his ankle last Sunday.
Oliver Glasner insisted ahead of Crystal Palace’s previous match against Brentford that he was going to take their final two Premier League fixtures very seriously, opting not to rest players for their Europa Conference League final on May 27th.
But the Palace manager saw the potential negative consequences of that approach last weekend, as defender Chris Richards was forced off early in the Brentford game with an injury.
Though Glasner initially told the media he hoped Richards would be back in midweek, he’s since confirmed that the player will definitely miss the Arsenal game, and possibly also their Europa Conference League final.
“Chris will miss the Arsenal game,” Glasner admitted. “It’s now 50/50 for him and for us if he can play in the final in Leipzig.
“He tore two ligaments in his ankle. I think it’s stable, but quite swollen… He is in from sunrise until sunset having treatments.”
Palace will also be without former Gunner Eddie Nketiah for the Arsenal match, and Cheick Doucoure appears likely to remain absent, having missed the entire season so far. Everyone else should be fit.
Of course, this game is now significantly lower stakes, with Arsenal having already won the Premier League on Tuesday.
Palace will also have an eye on the Europa Conference League final the following Wednesday, and the media should no longer care whether or not Glasner rotates his side with that match in mind.
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