Sven confirms Richards blow
28 Feb 2008 - 14:40:35
Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has confirmed that key defender Micah Richards will be sidelined for around six weeks following a knee operation.
Nineteen-year-old England stopper Richards underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee, with City initially hoping that he might be back in action within a few weeks.
However, Eriksson now says that his player will be out for well over a month.
He told the club's official website: "It's bad news. He was operated on yesterday in London and I spoke to the medical people both before and afterwards.
"They thought he would be out for six weeks beforehand and they confirmed to me once it was completed.
"Our medical staff say that he is a good and quick healer, so we will hope that he is back before six weeks. It's bad news, but of course that happens in football.
"Obviously this is a big blow, because we know how important he has been for us and we are also without Martin Petrov for three games.
"That's a big blow for us as well, we're talking about two of our best players so it's a pity."