American soccer star Christian Pulisic is expected to miss several weeks of action after suffering a bone bruise and microfracture in his right leg, according to a new report.
The injury happened during the U.S. men’s national team’s 4-1 round of 16 World Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday in Seattle.
The Athletic was first to report the details of the injury and the projected recovery timeline. Pulisic is anticipated to be back in training before AC Milan kicks off its Serie A season against Torino on August 23.
The incident took place in the 54th minute, with the United States trailing 2-1. Pulisic was preparing to take a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box when Belgium captain Youri Tielemans stepped in between the ball and Pulisic’s leg, causing the American to make contact with Tielemans’ foot instead.
After initially going down on the field, Pulisic tried to push through the pain and continue playing. However, he was clearly hobbling and was substituted out in the 59th minute — shortly after goalkeeper Matt Freese made a costly error that allowed Belgium to extend their lead to 3-1.
The 27-year-old was visibly emotional on the bench following his exit from the match. He wrapped up his second World Cup appearance with one assist across four games.
On Wednesday, Pulisic took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the tournament’s end. “Tough to find the words. I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who believed. The support carried us all the way through,” he wrote.
He continued: “It simply wasn’t good enough from us in the end and I wanted to deliver so much more. I still feel blessed to be a part of this team. The memories this summer will last a lifetime. It’s just the start for us and for this sport in America.”
Pulisic had already been dealing with injury issues heading into the tournament. During the U.S. opener against Paraguay, he aggravated a calf injury he had sustained before the World Cup and was pulled at halftime. He did not see the field again until the second half of the team’s final group-stage match against Turkey.
