The news will come as a blow to City fans, who witnessed an impressive performance from the youngster at the weekend, capped off by his first goal for the club.
Craig Levein’s thoughts:
"Richard will be out for three to four weeks. He's young so should recover quickly but I don't know whether or not we will see him again this season.
"He was a real plus point for us on Saturday. You have to remember that he is only 17 and he is currently playing out of position. He's a centre-back but we feel that he is a bit light at this moment in time to be pitched in against someone like Danny Dichio.
"He's got good pace and gets up and down. He's also got good legs as you would imagine for somebody his age.