​Attention to Pulisic doubters: here are the details. Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and a microfracture in his lower right leg during the United States men’s national team’s 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16, a source close to the situation confirmed to USA TODAY after The Athletic reported the news on Thursday. The injury will keep him sidelined for several weeks, but there is a possibility he could resume training with AC Milan before the Serie A season begins, according to The Athletic.
Pulisic exited the USMNT’s final World Cup match in the 59th minute following a collision with Belgium’s Youri Tielemans. As Pulisic lined up a shot, he accidentally kicked Tielemans’ leg. After attempting to play through the pain for several minutes, he left the pitch following Belgium’s third goal, with the USMNT subsequently losing 4-1. In the aftermath, Pulisic stated that he had “twisted my ankle and my knee in one play.”
In the stands, United States fans roared their support. Yet after the game, Pulisic’s decision to come off drew heavy criticism from some former USMNT and U.S. women’s national team players, who questioned his toughness and commitment. Landon Donovan, while acknowledging he didn’t know the full extent of the injury, offered a pointed critique, saying he would have fought to stay on the field.
Pulisic had already battled injuries throughout the tournament. He left the opener against Paraguay at halftime after aggravating a left calf issue, missing the Australia match, and did not play the first half of the group-stage finale against Turkey, though he returned for the second half. He started both the round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Belgium game.
“I’ve had one injury before and now another one, and it’s really tough to deal with,” Pulisic said, expressing disappointment with his individual World Cup performance. “But we have a great team. There are so many guys who stepped up this tournament that should be the focus.”
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