Aston Villa defender Micah Richards reaches 500 days without a game despite being fit to play... what is going on with the former Premier League and FA Cup winner?
2018/02/28 23:39:47dailymail.co.uk
Once hailed the best young defender in the country, Micah Richards has won 13 England caps, a Premier League title, and the FA Cup.
He made Champions League appearances with Manchester City, and has memories of representing Great Britain at the London Olympics. He once turned down Manchester United and Chelsea, and at 29 has seasons ahead of him.
But on Tuesday he passed a remarkable 500 days since his last competitive game for Aston Villa. His £35,000-per-week contract at the Championship club does not run out until 2019. So how has it come to this?
Micah Richards is desperate and fit to play for Aston Villa but is 500 days without a game
For a player of his experience and ability it is a highly peculiar situation. Injuries have been a factor but the defender has, for the majority, been fit and desperate to play.
October 15, 2016, was the last time Richards did so competitively. He started Steve Bruce's first game in charge against Wolves, but went off with a calf problem in the 66th minute, and 73 Villa matches have subsequently come and gone without his involvement.
The reasons are manifold but the crux at present is that Bruce does not totally trust Richards to physically cope with two games in a week and has therefore decided against using him at all so the rhythm of his team is maintained.
Richards has a long-standing meniscus issue in his right knee – it has become swollen through exercise in the past – but sources close to the player insist the same was true of Ledley King for a number of his peak years and managed well it would not cause impediment to regular action.
Richards trains fully each day with the first-team but were he to have games to prepare for the sessions could be tailored accordingly. Instead he keeps turning up at Bodymoor Heath, undertaking all that is asked of him, yet knowing his name will not feature on the teamsheet when the meaningful action takes place.
The former FA Cup and Premier League winner was once hailed England's best young defender
Consistent injury problems halted his career and he has since become a ghost at Villa Park
On Saturday, as Villa players celebrated a thrilling 4-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday that reignited ambitions for automatic promotion, Richards was not in the picture, keeping up with the score away from Hillsborough.
It is a difficult space to occupy mentally, yet club insiders insist the bubbly personality we first saw when Richards excitedly swore on live television after scoring his first senior goal aged 17 – a last-gasp equaliser for City at Villa – remains.
He has given advice and encouragement to Villa's emerging players, such as Keinan Davis, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Andre Green, Corey Blackett-Taylor, and Callum O'Hare. Jack Grealish has also received words of wisdom.
A well-travelled source praised Richards for being 'the nicest player' he has worked with
A well-travelled source said: 'He's probably the nicest player I've worked with, the staff love him. He is very popular, and always has a smile on his face.'
But Richards is more than the joker to keep spirits up. The competitive edge that saw him rise through City's academy is also still intact and while it is important to stress there has been no bust-up with Bruce, strong conversations have taken place.
Richards understands it is of course Bruce's prerogative to pick whichever team he deems best, and Villa's position in the table is evidence of his judgement, but Sportsmail can reveal that twice in this campaign particular pressure moments have prompted personal meetings between manager and player.
One came when Richards sought answers after being left out of August's Carabao Cup win over Wigan – when other fringe players were given a shop window to perform ahead of transfer deadline day
