Christian Pulisic is training away from the main USMNT group after aggravating a calf injury he first picked up last week — and with a fixture against Australia coming up, the United States are now watching their most important attacking player work through a recovery race on his own.
Pulisic originally picked up the calf problem last week and then made it worse during Friday's 4-1 win over Paraguay, according to ESPN FC. He has since been separated from the main group in training — working individually rather than with the squad as the USMNT prepare for their next match.
The detail that matters: it was aggravated, not just managed. That's a different conversation.
For the USMNT, Pulisic is the clearest creative threat they have — the player who makes the difference between a side that can hurt you and one that just keeps the ball. Without him, the attack looks considerably flatter.
But the story doesn't end when the international window does. Pulisic is AC Milan's key asset going into next season — and any calf injury picked up in international football that carries over into pre-season is exactly the kind of thing that makes clubs quietly furious about the international calendar. Milan's rivals across the city will be watching closely. The Rossoneri will be monitoring this one carefully.
There's no confirmed timeline on his availability for the Australia match, and no official update on severity beyond what ESPN FC has reported. He is training — just not with the group. Whether that gap closes in time is the question nobody has a clean answer to yet.
The USMNT have not ruled him out. They also haven't said he's fine.
Christian Pulisic is training away from the main USMNT group after aggravating a calf injury he first picked up last week — and with a fixture against Australia coming up, the United States are now watching their most…
Sources
ESPN FC
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