Brave Richardson is back for good
Sunderland’s former Manchester United midfielder has bravely come back from a serious spinal injury to inject new life into Roy Keane’s struggling side.
Richardson returned as a substitute, following four worrying months out, to produce a lively cameo in the 4-0 home St Stephen’s Day hammering by his old club.
But against fellow rivals-in-distress Bolton on Saturday, Sunderland fans were given an appetising taste of the talent they have been denied for so long and one that manager Keane recognised as worthy of a €7.5million summer investment.
Richardson registered his first goal for the Black Cats with a 13th-minute opener and then returned the compliment to provide Kenwyne Jones, who headed in his fifth of the season on the end of a delightfully-delivered corner.
For Richardson, 23, it was hugely rewarding after such a painful lay-off, which saw him refuse surgery for fear of lasting damage. He explained: “I fractured my spine. Towards the end of the season with Manchester United, I had a niggle in my back. I thought maybe it was my bed.
“They didn’t pick it up at United and through the whole of Euro 2007 (with England U-21s) I was in agony. I didn’t know what it was and when I came here, I didn’t know what it was.
“I had a medical and they didn’t pick it up. Then, after the Liverpool game, I couldn’t sleep properly and had a scan and that showed a fracture in my spine. I was gutted. They told me it was three months minimum. I was absolutely devastated for me and my family, because I want to play all the time.
“It has been four months and I’m back. It was mainly just a case of rest. There was a suggestion of an operation, but I didn’t want that on my spine. Being a young man, you want natural healing to do the trick. A lot of athletes get it — like triple jumpers — and cricketers, too. It’s a bad injury but, touch wood, it’s over and done.
“I was playing in a lot of pain, especially in the Euros. I don’t want to milk it, but I didn’t take any pain-killers. I was in a cast for four weeks which made me sweat a lot! I don’t know if it’s completely healed yet, but I don’t feel pain any longer and hopefully I’ll be ok for the rest of my career.’
Keane believes Richardson’s travails could have a positive effect. He said: “The last thing you want when you join a new club and there are expectations of you is to pick up bad injury. It’s a frustrating injury and it was a shock to us all.
“But it might do him some good in the long term. I know when I had a bad injury, a cruciate, it gives you a chance to sit back and reflect about what you’re doing, on and off the park. When you’re injured, like Kieran, you’re forgotten about. Brian Clough wouldn’t even speak about you: he’d ask you to stay at home when you were injured. I’m not that bad yet, but it can be lonely and it’s a test of character.
“Kieran was delighted to get back against United. You need three or four games under your belt to get back, but over the Christmas period we’ve not been able to do that, not even 11 versus 11 on the training pitch. It was a big ask of him and you saw in the second half that he’s lacking match fitness.
“But Kieran has something up his sleeve, he’s got that sharpness. Hopefully, he’ll have a big part to play.’
But Richardson might not have started against Bolton had Ross Wallace not suffered a hamstring injury in training.
Richardson’s game was over before Ireland striker Daryl Murphy, a substitute for an ineffectual Andy Cole, sealed victory in injury-time after El-Hadji Diouf’s long-range free-kick near the interval had given Bolton fresh impetus.
The volatile Diouf was involved in an end-of-game flare-up with Ireland defender Paul McShane, but Bolton boss Gary Megson denied there was any issue.
Megson’s main concern is holding on to striker Nicolas Anelka, but he stressed: “Everyone at the club loves him, nobody wants him to go. Hopefully, he’s part of that as well. He’s very important to us.’
SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Gordon 6, Whitehead 6, McShane 6, Higginbotham 6, Collins 6, Chopra 6 (Leadbitter 46, 6), Miller 6, Etuhu 6, Richardson 8 (O’Donovan 70, 5), Cole 5 (Murphy 57, 6), Jones 7.
Subs Not Used: Ward, Waghorn.
BOLTON (4-5-1): Jaaskelainen 6, Samuel 5 (Guthrie 57, 5), A O’Brien 6, Meite 6, Gardner 6, J O’Brien 6, Davies 6 (Stelios 74, 5), Nolan 6 (Campo 87, 5), McCann 5, Diouf 6, Anelka 6.
Subs Not Used: Ward, Waghorn.
REFEREE: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) 6: Applied the letter of the law when he booked Kieran Richardson for joining the fans to celebrate his goal, but when will a little common sense return to refereeing?
MATCH RATING: *** Sunderland’s suspect defending reared its head again when Corkman Liam Miller — back from a ban — gave away a needless free-kick that El-Hadji Diouf dispatched as Paul McShane and Craig Gordon failed to deal with it. But the Black Cats’ resolute rearguard action after the break was rewarded.
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