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Micah Richards' Situation At Aston Villa Is Incredibly Sad

Micah Richards' Situation At Aston Villa Is Incredibly Sad

Richards hasn't played a single minute this season despite being fit and available.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

The current situation of Micah Richards at Aston Villa is incredibly sad.

The bubbly character who burst onto the scene as a 17-year old at Manchester City, scoring a last-minute equaliser at Villa Park in an FA Cup tie and letting out an expletive in his post-match interview, went on to win the Premier League with Manchester City, was capped 13 times by England and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.

Richards, who had offers from Arsenal and Chelsea back in the day, was a key man under Roberto Mancini in 2011/12 but persistent injury problems led to him being released by the club in 2015, following a loan spell with Fiorentina in Italy.

He signed for Villa on a free transfer and became the club's captain for the disappointing 2015/16 campaign, where he made 24 Premier League appearances as the Midlands club were relegated to the Championship.

Image: PA
Image: PA

But fast forward to the present day and Richards has just surpassed 500 days without playing for Villa - his last appearance being Steve Bruce's first game in charge in October 2016. Richards was forced off with a calf injury 73 matches ago and aside from a couple of behind-closed doors friendlies that he struggled to be motivated for, that's been his last involvement in a game.

Villa are in with a very good chance of achieving promotion back to the top-flight but it must be difficult for Richards to feel part of it given he hasn't played a single minute, making the bench on just one occasion against Middlesbrough in the early weeks of the season.

As noted in a detailed report from Laurie Whitwell in the Daily Mail, the 29-year old partakes in full training with the rest of the Villa squad and is well-liked by the group.

"He's probably the nicest player I've worked with, the staff love him," a source told the Daily Mail.

"He is very popular, and always has a smile on his face."

Image: PA
Image: PA

It's also said that the former England international does everything he is asked to do in training, even giving advice to the young players, but he knows every week that he won't be getting a game.

According to the report, Bruce does not think Richards, with his long-standing knee problem, has it in him to play two games a week and he feels bringing him into the fold will halt some of the momentum Villa have.

It's stressed that while there has been no rift between manager and player, "strong conversations" have taken place, with Richards understandably unhappy with his situation. He was apparently particularly displeased over being left out of the squad to play Wigan in the Carabao Cup back in August, when several bit-part players were involved.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Richards, who has just over a year left on his £35,000-a-week deal with the Villains, continues to act professionally but it's a very big fall from grace he's experiencing.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Micah Richards, Steve Bruce, Aston Villa, Football, Premier League, England, Fiorentina, championship