Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture and a bone bruise in his leg during the United States’ 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16 on Monday, as reported by US Soccer.
The injury took place in the second half while Pulisic was on the pitch in Seattle, prompting his premature exit from the game. To evaluate the extent of the injury, he underwent X-ray and MRI scans on Tuesday, which revealed he will likely be sidelined for several weeks. US Soccer stated that both the federation and AC Milan are working together on his recovery plan.
In the wake of the US team’s disappointing World Cup elimination, some analysts pointed to Pulisic’s comments regarding his injury. When asked about the incident, he stated, “I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play … I have time to rest. It’s just unfortunate way to finish.”
Carli Lloyd, a former star of the US women’s national team and now an analyst for Fox, tweeted the day after the match, “You rest when your playing career is over. Period.” seemingly directed at Pulisic.
Landon Donovan, the former captain of the US men’s national team, shared his perspective on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast, saying, “the reality is, [Pulisic] came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact … you would have had to fucking drag me off the field. And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”
Pulisic’s injury-plagued World Cup experience has been one of the significant letdowns for the US squad that reached the last 16. The AC Milan forward displayed his skills in the first half of a 4-1 victory over Paraguay but had to leave at halftime due to a left calf injury, which had previously kept him out during the US’s second group match against Australia, a 2-0 win. He appeared as a substitute in an inconsequential 3-2 loss to Turkey and started in a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32, although his impact during that match was limited.
