Palace boss answers whether Chris Richards will make the USMNT squad for the Qatar 2022 World Cup

Patrick Vieira has admitted that Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards has yet to return to full training, with USA manager Gregg Berhalter set to announce his squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup on November 9.

The 22-year-old defender, who joined the Eagles from Bayern Munich over the summer, has been absent from Patrick Vieira’s squad after he was forced to withdraw from the USA squad for their recent friendlies against Japan and Saudia Arabia with a hamstring injury.

Richards is yet to make his first start for the South Londoners in the Premier League and has only played a total of 134 minutes. He did start the 2-0 EFL Cup win over League One side Oxford United.

The versatile defender has eight international caps to his name.

“Chris has started doing some work outside, but he didn’t do any kind of training with the team yet,” explained the Palace boss.

“What is important is about him physically, there is a step he has to go through, and at the moment, he hasn’t done any kind of training with the squad.

“The decision is not going to be mine, but with the doctor, we have to decide what is best for the club.”

Speaking prior to the season starting about what he expected Richards to bring to the side, Vieira added: “He’s a strong player who is physically really good in the one-against-one [battles].

“His competitiveness is really high, and he loves to win [training] drills. He will bring more competitiveness to the backline as well.

“I don’t know if he brought it [his competitive nature] from Bayern, or it was something he had before. He is a player who likes to compete and is a winner.

“On the other side, he will bring more competition at the back. He is a good player to have in the squad.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD