City hint at Richards op
28 Mar 2007 - 08:02:50
Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce is keeping his fingers crossed that Micah Richards can stay fit until the end of the season, despite suffering from a calf injury.
The 18-year-old defender has compartment syndrome in his lower legs which can be solved with rest, but Pearce has warned he could require surgery in the summer.
"Micah has a slight problem with his calves," he told the club's official website.
"That will be ongoing until we get enough rest time and have a look at it further in respect to any surgery that might need doing.
"The problem might not solve itself before the summer. But at the moment, we've our fingers crossed that he stays fit until the end of the season."
Richards shrugged off the problem to feature as a second-half substitute in England's goalless draw with Israel last weekend and Pearce believes the youngster will feature against Andorra on Wednesday.
"From his point of view, as an 18-year-old, any time you're capped for your country it's a massive bonus," he continued.
"Every minute you can spend on a football pitch at such an early age is beneficial to anybody, so we're pleased to see him out there for England.
"I'll be surprised if he doesn't start against Andorra."