Richards out for the season?

Micah Richards - who has missed the past couple of games due to injury, has been removed from the England squad from their encounter with Estonia in June and it must be certain that his offseason operation to solve his calf problems will now be brought forward to ensure his recovery is made as soon as possible before the start of next seasons campaign.

Now that we have all but secured Premiership safety - and with the timely return of Nedum Onouha from injury, there can be no reason to stave off the operation in the hope he could be back for the last couple of games and it is encouraging that Stuart Pearce has decided to force this issue and put the interests of the club (and ultimately the player) for first.