Former Manchester City star and England international Micah Richards has not featured for Aston Villa since October 2016.
You will not need reminding that Micah Richards was once seen as a shining light of English football, a defender set for a long career at the top level with both club and country.
At the age of 29, the one-time Premier League winner and 13-capped England international should be in his prime. Instead he is the forgotten man at Championship side Aston Villa and has now gone over 500 days without a first-team appearance.
Richards has not featured for Villa since a 1-1 draw with Wolves in October 2016, Steve Bruce’s first game in charge of the Midland giants.
As reported by the Mail, the former Manchester City star suffered a calf injury in that game and, since then, the fitness problems have only worsened. It is understood that Richards is suffering with a meniscus problem in his right knee, a similar injury to the one that wrecked the career of former Tottenham captain Ledley King and forced him into an early retirement.
The report adds that Bruce does not trust Richards to be able to physically cope with the demands of two games in a week – the standard Championship schedule – and has thus taken the decision to omit the £35,000-a-week defender entirely because he does not want to disrupt the rhythm of his team.
And while Richards is understood to be well liked at Villa, proving to be an excellent role model to the club’s crop of talented youngsters. But, understandably, he wants a chance to play and was very frustrated for instance at being left out of an EFL Cup clash with Wigan Athletic in August.
Summer talks are planned as, if Villa are promoted, Richards is due a substantial pay rise due to a clause in his contract.
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