Crystal Palace star Chris Richards stretchered off pitch with foot bleeding in worrying injury

Crystal Palace have suffered a worrying injury blow after Chris Richards was forced off against Arsenal.

The defender was stretchered off during the second half of their Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at the Emirates Stadium.

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Richards’ foot could be seen bleeding heavily as play was stopped between the two sides.

The American received treatment from the Palace medical staff whilst the match was paused for a considerable period.

It was not clear how Richards had suffered the injury before he went to ground.

Prior to the injury, he had been marking Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus tightly.

The injury provided Oliver Glasner with an immediate headache, with no recognised central defenders on his bench.

As a result, Will Hughes replaced Richards, with Jefferson Lerma dropping into the back four.

Shortly after Richards went off, Palace fell behind when Maxence Lacroix inadvertently turned the ball into his own net following a scramble in the box from an Arsenal corner.

However, the Eagles hit back deep into stoppage time through a poacher’s finish by Marc Guehi.

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His effort proved to be the last goal of the match as the defender sent the match to penalties.

Arsenal would go on to win on spot-kicks, though, with Maxence Lacroix the only player to miss as the hosts prevailed 8-7.

The Gunners will face Chelsea over two legs in the semi-finals in the new year.

Palace blow

Richards’ injury could be a potentially crucial blow for Glasner and Palace, though.

The 25-year-old has made 24 appearances across all competitions this season.

Those include starting all 17 Premier League matches this season, missing just seven minutes across those outings.

It is the latest injury setback for the FA Cup winners, who are already without a trio of key players.

Daniel Munoz has been ruled out until January with a knee injury, which has already kept him out of their last six matches.

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The Colombian is not expected to return to action before their trip to Sunderland on January 17.

Meanwhile, Daichi Kamada will be out until February with a hamstring injury.

They add to Ismaila Sarr’s absence, with the forward on international duty with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.