Richardson happy to be in a catch 22 situation
But the Cork City manager admits that it's going to be a tough call to pick him ahead of in-form stand-in Mark McNulty.
"Michael trained again yesterday and it looks like he's okay," Richardson reported. "Today we'll have him kicking for the first time but at this stage it looks like he will be available for selection. It's a big decision between him and Mark. Mark has done exceptionally well and if I leave him out, I'm making a big choice but if I don't put Michael in I'm making a big choice as well. It's the devil and the deep blue sea syndrome."
With Billy Woods having recovered from a calf strain, City's main injury worries are George O'Callaghan (ankle) and John O'Flynn (hamstring).
Says Richardson: "George pulled up in training yesterday but I'm hoping he'll be alright. He actually trained more yesterday than he had done for a while so that's encouraging. John also trained yesterday but the issue now is whether there's any reaction. They'll both travel with us to Dublin today and, while I'm confident both will be ok, we'll give them until tomorrow to see if they're up to it."
In order to facilitate live transmission on Setanta Sports, several eircom League games in May involving Cork, Drogheda, Derry and Shelbourne have been moved. Shelbourne v Drogheda, originally scheduled for Friday May 5 will now take place at Tolka Park on Thursday May 4. Cork City v Shelbourne has been moved from Friday May 12 to Monday May 15 at Turner's Cross. Derry City v Cork at The Brandywell has been moved from Friday May 19 to Monday May 22. Those games kick off at 8pm, while Cork City v Sligo Rovers, originally scheduled to take place tonight, will now take place on Tuesday May 2 at Turner's Cross at 7.45pm.
Meanwhile, Shelbourne have confirmed that they will hold talks with controversial international lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano about his stated desire to invest in the Dublin club.
Di Stefano, who has acted as legal advisor to Saddam Hussein, John Gilligan and Patrick "Dutchy" Holland, has said that he wants to invest in Shels and make them a top European club.
"If I got the opportunity for total control of Shelbourne, I would take it," he said.
Football fan Di Stefano, who previously made a failed bid for Scottish outfit Dundee FC, is scheduled to meet with Shelbourne officials to discuss his proposals.
Said Shels CEO Ollie Byrne yesterday: "We know very little about him and out of courtesy we have accepted his invitation to meet with him.
"We will approach the meeting with open minds and listen to what he has to say. Our primary and overriding concern is to secure the future of Shelbourne FC, which has a long and proud history. We will do nothing to jeopardise that."
Because of tomorrow's Setanta Sports Cup final, there are just two fixtures in the eircom League Premier Division tonight.
Bottom of the table Waterford United will be without Chris Deans (suspended), Brendan Hughes (hamstring), Paul Ometeso (calf) and Jimmy Fyffe and Kristian Lamberski (flu), for the home game against Longford Town, a missing list which doesn't bode well for the Blues' hopes of racking up their first league win of the campaign.
However, manager Mike Kerley saw reasons to be positive in the team's 3-1 defeat by Sligo Rovers last time out.
"We created a lot of very good chances in the first half and I felt that whoever went 2-1 up would be in the driving seat. Unfortunately it was Sligo who got the goal and then we were chasing the game after that.
"I think one good result now will breed confidence, especially for the young players we have here.
"We need to be stronger defensively and also take our chances upfront but the team is generally playing very well so I've no complaints."
Tonight's other game is a Dublin derby at Dalymount Park between Dublin City and Bohemians, with Gareth Farrelly's Bohs looking to leapfrog their opponents in the bottom half of the table.
Both games kick off at 7.45pm.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
