USMNT Defender Chris Richards Fit for Portugal Friendly

MARIETTA, Georgia - U.S. men's national team defender Chris Richards confirmed Monday that he is available to play in Tuesday's friendly against Portugal after sitting out Saturday's 5-2 loss to Belgium due to knee soreness.

Richards, a 26-year-old center back for Crystal Palace, sustained the injury from a tackle during his club's UEFA Conference League match against AEK Larnaca earlier this month. He arrived at the U.S. training camp last week with discomfort but has since trained individually and appeared ready during Monday's session, wearing a bandage below his right knee. "I'm fine," Richards said. "I had a bad tackle in my last game with Palace, so just a little bit of knee pain, knee soreness, but I've been training individually all week and I'm available for tomorrow."

His return bolsters a depleted back line plagued by injuries. Center back Miles Robinson tweaked his groin during training in Atlanta last week and will miss both friendlies. Right back Sergino Dest was not selected for the roster because of a hamstring issue, while left back Antonee Robinson has only recently returned from a prolonged knee injury that sidelined him for about 18 months. In Richards'...