Micah Richards will train as normal today after limping out of the epic weekend win over Chelsea.
Fears that the defender had badly damaged his knee in a second half fall proved unfounded, much to the England star’s relief.
“I heard a crack and then the knee gave way and for a moment I thought it was really serious,” explained the 21-year-old.
“It was a bit of a worry because it was the right knee, the one on which I had an operation last season. But the pain subsided and fortunately I am fit to train again.
That is great news because no one wants to miss out. We feel that last week has given us great momentum.
...Micah Richards
“The two team performances against Arsenal and Chelsea were amongst the best for a long time. Everyone was playing well at the same time.
“There was a real determination about our play and we want to go on and use that as a platform for more success.”
Wayne Bridge, who limped off just after Richards after being caught by Juliano Belletti, has not been so fortunate with his knee knock and will be out for between two and three weeks.
The good news, however, is that tests have shown the medial injury to be no worse than first feared in the immediate aftermath of the latest win at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Boss Mark Hughes has also been boosted by the return to fitness of reigning player of the season Stephen Ireland after he picked up a bang on the knee against Arsenal and had to sit out the Chelsea victory.
The other absentee from the weekend, Craig Bellamy, is expected to return to action later in the week and be in contention for the trip to play Bolton on Saturday afternoon.
Individually and as a unit, this (against Chelsea) was the defences finest hour. Micah Richards may have been fortunate to regain his place in the side but he - injury now permitting - has grasped the position back.
...Bitter and Blue blog...
