Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture and bone bruise in his leg in the United States’ 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup last 16 on Monday, US Soccer announced.
- Underwent X-ray and MRI scans on Tuesday; US Soccer and Milan coordinating rehab plan.
- He was removed from the match in the second half shortly after the incident in Seattle.
- Carli Lloyd criticized his comments, while Landon Donovan defended playing on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast.
- Pulisic had an injury-hit tournament: left-calf problem vs Paraguay, missed Australia, substitute vs Turkey, started vs Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Pulisic suffered the injury in the second half in Seattle and was removed shortly afterward. He underwent X-ray and MRI scans on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury, which is expected to keep Pulisic out for several weeks. US Soccer said the federation and Milan are working collaboratively on his rehab plan.
In the wake of the US’s disastrous exit from the World Cup, some pundits seized upon comments he made to journalists after the match regarding the injury. Asked about what happened, Pulisic said “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, the former US women’s national team star now working as an analyst for Fox, tweeted “You rest when your playing career is over. Period.” the day after the match, seemingly directed at Pulisic.
Landon Donovan, former captain of the US men’s national team, said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast that “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-hit World Cup campaign was one of the bigger disappointments of the Americans’ run to the last 16. The Milan forward played brilliantly in the opening 45 minutes of a 4-1 win over Paraguay, but was removed at half-time after aggravating a left-calf injury – an ailment that also caused him to miss the US’s second group game, a 2-0 win over Australia. He came on as a substitute in a dead-rubber 3-2 loss to Turkey, then started and played 88 minutes but was only occasionally dangerous in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32.
