Pulisic hurt as USMNT exits World Cup, legacy questions linger
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- Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture in his tibia/fibula plus a bone bruise in the USMNT's 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium, and is expected to miss weeks rather than months, per The Athletic.
- The injury came in the 52nd minute when Pulisic tried to shoot and accidentally kicked Youri Tielemans' calf, twisting his ankle and knee; he was subbed off in the 59th minute and later seen on crutches at the team hotel in Seattle.
- It was Pulisic's second injury of the tournament — a calf issue forced him off at halftime in the 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 12 and kept him out of the 2-0 win over Australia on June 19.
- AC Milan manager Ruben Amorim said Pulisic will miss the start of Milan's preseason and plans to deploy him as an inverted winger on the left flank.
- Pulisic registered zero shots, assists, or chances created in both the round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina (July 1) and the Belgium defeat, and has scored just once for the national team since November 2024.
- Pulisic has become a polarizing figure, with retired stars including Landon Donovan publicly questioning his commitment after he skipped last summer's Concacaf Gold Cup to rest ahead of the World Cup.
Why it matters: Pulisic's second injury of the tournament, combined with zero offensive output in his last two games, means the home-soil World Cup will be remembered as the one where American soccer's biggest star failed to deliver on the biggest stage. AC Milan's preseason now opens without a player Amorim has already publicly slotted into a specific tactical role.
