“I think frustrating would be a good word for it,” Richards says of the injury that saw him miss games against Bournemouth, Manchester City and Liverpool.
“I feel like I worked hard over the last two seasons that I've been here and I think I was finally reaping the benefit of that. It's always nice playing games.
“Sadly, I'm on the sidelines now, but it's just another chance for me to help my team in any way possible. Whether it's supporting from the sidelines or being on the pitch, I'll do whatever to hopefully push the guys forward and get these points that we need."
Speaking before the trip to Anfield, Richards mentioned: “I have a knee injury. Hopefully, what we're aiming for is West Ham. I'm just kind of taking it day by day, hoping that it continues to heal and that's what I'm aiming for, at least, is the West Ham game."
Injury setback brought to an end a run of 16 consecutive starts in the Premier League, continuing under new manager Oliver Glasner who Richards has enjoyed working with since his arrival.
“It's been good – I think it's brought a lot of structure, brought a lot of direction, especially at the end of the season,” he said.
“Definitely something that we need is just direction. It's given us a lot of confidence as well.”
