Louis Saha

MICAH Richards has vowed to come back better than ever after his injury lay-off.

The teenage England defender has offered a shot of much-needed optimism for the becalmed Blues and indicated his determination to be back in action well ahead of the six-week schedule laid down by the medics after his knee operation.

And that is the best possible news for City chief Sven-Goran Eriksson who is wrestling with major selection problems ahead of Sunday's game with Spurs.

The manager is already without suspended pair Martin Petrov and Didi Hamann, the injured Richards and Valeri Bojinov and is anxiously awaiting progress reports on skipper Richard Dunne (gashed shin), Nedum Onuoha (hamstring) and Michael Ball (twisted knee).

It is a worrying injury toll that teenager Richards is determined to reduce as quickly as possible.

"I had the operation nearly two weeks ago and things are looking good. Hopefully, I could be back even sooner than the six weeks," he said.

"The operation was something that couldn't be avoided. I played in the derby at Old Trafford with it hurting and in the second half picked up an ankle knock as well so I was a wreck by the end of the game.

"After the Everton match the knee was swollen like a balloon and I couldn't carry on really. The medical advice was to get it done before the end of the season and that is what I did. It is for the best in the long term.

"I hate missing games, especially at such a crucial time but I will be giving it 100 per cent to be fit as soon as I possibly can. I will be back and I will be back with a bang!"

Richards is in relaxed frame of mind after signing a new contract that puts him amongst the high earners, but still well within the Blues wage structure.

With more than 75 league and Cup starts under his belt in addition to 11 England caps, the club saw the £45,000-a-week deal as a reward for Richards' progress after graduating from the Academy to become a first choice for club and country.

It was also a signal that they intend to keep their best young talent in a bid to close on the big four and, from Richards' point of view, the agreement was the perfect outcome.

"The talk about my contract had become quite annoying to be honest," he revealed.

"It wasn't as though I was in the last year of my old deal. I still had two-and-half years to go and some players only sign for that amount of time.

"There was a big fuss for nothing and now I am glad it is all over, the deal has been signed. There has only ever been one place I wanted to be and that's City."