USMNT centre back crisis grows as Chris Richards and Miles Robinson ruled out | OneFootball

Both Chris Richards and Miles Robinson are set to miss the United States’ March friendlies, deepening concerns at centre back. According to NY Times, Mauricio Pochettino said Robinson has a groin injury and confirmed Richards is out against Belgium on Saturday, adding Portugal on Tuesday is unlikely for him.

Richards felt knee pain on Monday, trained only partly on Tuesday, then did not finish Wednesday’s session. A locked-in starter, he played 10 straight US games from the start of the Concacaf Gold Cup to last October, before missing November wins over Paraguay and Uruguay.

With two options sidelined, Tim Ream is expected to start on the left with Mark McKenzie a logical partner. Auston Trusty could feature, and Pochettino may go with three centre backs or use Joe Scally or Alex Freeman on the right. Tanner Tessmann, recently at centre back for Lyon, is another option.

Robinson, 29 and with Cincinnati, remains in the World Cup roster fight after an Achilles injury kept him out of Qatar 2022. He is competing with McKenzie and Trusty for a place, and possibly a starting berth on the right. Pochettino said this window allows testing while keeping standards high.

Away from defence, Weston McKennie is thriving at Juventus, playing multiple roles with eight goals and five assists across Serie A and the Champions League, and earning a contract extension. He said he wants to bring the same effort and confidence to the national team. Christian Pulisic said McKennie remains a key figure.

Source: NY Times