The United States’ men’s national team already has a major injury question mark before the 2026 FIFA World Cup even kicks off.

Chris Richards, the 26-year-old who many believe is the best defender on the USMNT heading into the tournament, won’t be traveling for the team’s international friendly against Senegal on Sunday.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino said that Richards is dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him out of Crystal Palace’s last two matches of the season. And even worse for fans, there’s currently no public timetable for his return.

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“I think he needs to keep doing his rehab,” Pochettino said, per the New York Post. “I think it’s much better to stay here and plan to train and [see] next week how it is.”

The “here” Pochettino speaks of is the USMNT training facility in Atlanta, which is where Richards is staying while his teammates head to Charlotte, North Carolina, for their matchup with Senegal.

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Richards also wasn’t present for the team’s 26-man roster reveal in New York City last week, sending a video message instead as he stayed with Crystal Palace for its European final match in Germany. He didn’t play in the match despite being available as a sub.

Richards has yet to train with the USMNT, and Pochettino didn’t appear too optimistic he would be ready for the team’s first match against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles.

“I was asking from yesterday when he arrived to [assistant coach] Jesús [Pérez] 100 times, ‘What do you think, what do you think, which formation we have'” Pochettino explained. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. The answer was ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ It’s too early. We need to see. The next few days are going to be key to see the possibilities to be ready or not for the World Cup.”

While it’s not expected Richards will be taken off the roster, FIFA requires all 48 teams to finalize their 26-man squads by June. Teams can still make injury-related roster changes up to 24 hours before their first match.

The USMNT will try to get their chemistry and technical skills in check against Senegal, while also facing Germany in a pre-World Cup friendly before heading to Los Angeles for the start of their Group D schedule.

After Paraguay, the U.S. will have Australia in Seattle on June 19, followed by Türkiye in their final group stage match on June 25 back at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

But a significant question mark remains at one of the most important positions on the field for the USMNT: center back. Richards is a natural fit there, but the depth behind him is far less convincing, even after Pochettino sacrificed some attacking options to bolster the defense on his roster.

Richards was expected to start every match for the U.S. even before the roster was finalized, so it will be interesting to see how his injury progresses closer to the first match on June 12.

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Morgan Wallen couldn’t get over his frustration while on stage at a recent show.

In a fan-captured video obtained by Fox News Digital, the 33-year-old musician is seen getting frustrated when his equipment seemingly malfunctions in the middle of his performance of “Sand In My Boots.”

After he finishes singing the song, Wallen walks over to the piano and pushes it over, breaking it.

“While playing ‘sand in my boots’ Morgan gets off the piano cause it isn’t [working] as it should,” the video’s caption on TikTok reads. “He finishes acapella then proceeds to push the piano over, breaking it!”

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Wallen was performing in Denver as part of his “Still The Problem Tour,” which kicked off in April in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WATCH: MORGAN WALLEN PUSHES OVER A PIANO AFTER GETTING FRUSTRATED ON STAGE

During his tour stop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, country singer Ella Langley stepped on stage as Wallen’s opening act, and later joined him on stage to perform their new duet, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” a decision which sparked backlash from fans online who accused them of being “MAGA.”

“Now that she’s collabing with Morgan Wallen we can assume she’s MAGA so wdc [what the crap],” wrote one X user.

“She’s friends with and collabing with Morgan Wallen. A known racist and maga,” another social media user commented, while a third added, “Hitler and Stalin announce collab.”

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Other fans came to her defense, with one writing, “Who cares bama girl on top.”

“I’m so sick of people politicizing f—ing everything,” another chimed in. “Can we just enjoy a collab between two solid country artists without everyone f—ing crying about it, PLEASE?!”

The incident with the piano is far from Wallen’s first unsavory experience on stage. In an interview with Billboard News in March, singer Nate Smith shared that he once threw a drink in Wallen’s face when they were on stage together.

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He explained that he “was trying to be funny, and it wasn’t funny,” admitting Wallen “should have kicked me off the tour,” but instead the two of them laughed about it together on FaceTime later.

“He’s a very forgiving person. He has a lot of grace. He’s a good man,” Smith said. “He’s a good man. He’s a great guy. Literally a whole cup. A whole cup. I thought I was the funniest guy in the world.”

He explained that, after apologizing, Wallen said he understood, telling him, “Man, I probably would have done the same thing, or I’ve done the same thing.”

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart hopping on stage to introduce President Donald Trump, and his teammate Abdul Carter calling him out for it, has been the talk of the sports world this week.

Everyone has given their take on it, and the two players at the center of it all have worked things out, and it doesn’t seem like there’s some schism in the team’s locker room.

However, President Trump is firmly on Jaxson Dart’s side, as you might expect.

In fact, he’s all in on Jaxson Dart, the WINNER.

TRUMP BACKS GIANTS QB JAXSON DART AFTER RALLY APPEARANCE BACKLASH, SAYS ‘HE’S ALSO LOVED MORE’

“Thank you Jaxson! It was great being with you,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I know you’re taking some heat from the Radical Left Lunatics who are jealous of you, me, and everyone who surrounds us but, I also know that your Jersey also went to Number One, and you’re making Millions of Dollars so, YOU ARE A WINNER — THEY ARE ALL LOSERS.”

I can never get enough of the president’s writing. There’s just never been anything like it.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the wild capitalization?

“Radical Left Lunatics” and “Number One” I kind of get because he’s almost using them like titles, while “Jersey” reeks of auto-correct. But it would’ve never occurred to me to capitalize “Millions of Dollars,” but that’s probably because I’ve never encountered that in my own life.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Maybe your perspective on it changes when you rake in a cool million… I mean Million.

But man, what a post.

Just when you think this whole “controversy” is cooling off, here comes the president to take a leaf blower ot the smoldering coals.

So, now, we’ll see if there’s any more that comes of this now that President Trump has put the ball back in the Losers’ court.