Pulisic’s leg fracture sidelines US star for weeks

Christian Pulisic sustained a microfracture and bone bruise in his leg during the United States’ 4‑1 defeat to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday, US Soccer announced, meaning the forward will miss several weeks of action as he begins rehabilitation. The injury occurred in the second half in Seattle and he was withdrawn shortly afterwards. He underwent X‑ray and MRI scans on Tuesday to assess the damage. US Soccer said the federation and Milan are working collaboratively on his rehabilitation plan. Both parties will monitor his progress before clearing him to train.

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Pulisic told journalists, “I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play … I have time to rest. It’s just an unfortunate way to finish.” The quote underscores his disappointment with the timing. Carli Lloyd, former US women’s national team star now an analyst for Fox, tweeted “You rest when your playing career is over. Period.” The message appeared the day after the match and was clearly aimed at Pulisic.

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Interactive Landon Donovan, former US men’s captain, 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 tournament had already been hampered by a left‑calf injury that forced him out of the second group game against Australia. He played the opening 45 minutes of a 4‑1 win over Paraguay, came on as a substitute in a 3‑2 loss to Turkey, and started 88 minutes in a 2‑0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina before aggravating the leg injury.