Arsenal's Norwegian skipper attempted to deliver a ball into the box and Gabriel Jesus wanted to get his head to it. The Brazilian may have, but Richards' intervention was enough to put him off, and he squandered the chance to grab the opener – but the Palace man instantly winced in pain and eventually slumped to the Emirates turf. His teammates called over the referee.

Not long after, Palace's physio team were called onto the pitch, and they attempted to stop the heavy bleeding from his foot. As the footage of the incident was replayed, Lee Dixon added: "I'm unsure," Matterface responded: "Someone landed on his toe? That could be a possibility."

Richards – who has played all but seven minutes of his side's 2025/26 Premier League campaign – had his right boot removed before being stretchered off by the Palace backroom staff. He was then spotted watching from the penalty shoot-out from the dugout on crutches.

chris richards stretchered

In the aftermath of crashing out of the League Cup, Glasner claimed that Richards needed stitches. "He had a knock on his foot, and it had to be stitched. It doesn't look so bad. I don't know if it's possible for him on Sunday, but hopefully, in the New Year, he's back because, of course, we'd struggle a little bit (without him).

"He's one of our best headers and, to take him off, Will Hughes comes in as we didn't have a tall defender on the bench," he continued as he looks towards his side's next fixtures: Tottenham Hotspur travel to Selhurst Park on December 28 before they host Fulham at the turn of the year.