U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic looks set for another stint on the sideline after picking up an injury in training with AC Milan just days out from a Serie A clash with Lazio
Christian Pulisic looks likely to miss AC Milan’s upcoming game against Lazio(Image: Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images)
U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic’s injury demons appear to have found him once again, after two relatively healthy seasons since leaving Chelsea for AC Milan.
Over the last two seasons, Pulisic missed just six Serie A games due to injury, leading to “Captain America” returning to his best, leading the Rossoneri in goals last season while finishing second in assists.
However, after an excellent start to life under new head coach Massimiliano Allegri this season, scoring four goals in his first six league games primarily as a second striker behind Santiago Gimenez, his season took a turn for the worse when he was forced off early in a 2-1 USMNT friendly win over Australia in October with a hamstring injury.
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After missing the next four games, with Alexis Saelemaekers, Christopher Nkunku, Rafael Leão, and Gimenez all rotated up front, until Pulsic was finally able to return, coming off the bench on November 8. He was then able to start the following game against Inter Milan alongside Leão, with the American scoring the only goal of the game, although goalkeeper Mike Maignan was given the Man of the Match award, a decision Pulisic was fully behind.
“100 percent. I just scored an easy goal, he saved us maybe 10 times, the 27-year-old said, via Fox Sports. “For me, it’s my job, I have to score goals. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Unfortunately, this appears to have been a false dawn for Pulisic, who now looks likely to miss second-placed Milan’s upcoming home game against eighth-placed Lazio.
“Pulisic is unlikely to play, although there are still two days until the match and anything can happen,” Allegri said, via ESPN, after Pulisic pulled out of Wednesday’s training session with what La Gazzetta dello Sport called a “thigh strain.”
This is said to have “deeply disappointed” the Pennsylvanian, as per La Gazzetta, via Sempre Milan, even pushing to “rev up the pace” as of Friday, although Allegri’s staff appear keen to take a more careful approach toward their top scorer, who has seven in 10 games.
Exactly how long this latest setback could sideline Pulisic remains unclear; however, Milan will be back in action again soon, with a trip to Lazio in the Coppa Italia scheduled for Thursday before they travel to Torino the following Monday in Serie A.
Pulisic is Milan’s leading scorer across all competitions this season with seven(Image: Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)
Pulisic will be hoping these injury setbacks prove minor in the long run, given the importance of this season. It may be early in the season, but Milan does appear to be in the hunt for the Serie A crown once again, currently sitting two points behind leaders Roma. This comes after a torrid season under Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao, which saw them finish eighth, missing out on a European spot.
What’s more, next summer the U.S. will co-host the FIFA World Cup together with Mexico and Canada, representing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Pulisic.
