United States international and AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic sustained a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg and will be sidelined for several weeks, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The Athletic was the first to report the news.
Pulisic sustained the injury seven minutes into the second half of the USMNT’s 4-1 round-of-16 defeat to Belgium, when he attempted to take a shot on goal but struck the back of Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans’ leg.
Pulisic tried to carry on for several minutes before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute after goalkeeper Matt Freese’s error led to Belgium’s third goal by Hans Vanaken.
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“I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play,” Pulisic said after the match.
“I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It’s just unfortunate way to finish.”
Pulisic sustained multiple injuries during the tournament. In addition to the microfracture, the U.S. attacker dealt with a calf injury that he first sustained in training two days before the USMNT’s tournament opener against Paraguay.
He aggravated the injury against Paraguay and had to be substituted at halftime.
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He went on to sit out the match against Australia and played 32 minutes against Türkiye before returning to the starting lineup and playing 88 minutes in the 2-0 round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
A source confirmed to ESPN that Pulisic is expected to miss between 4-6 weeks, pointing to a return to training with AC Milan at some point in August.
At that point, Pulisic will begin life under new Milan manager Ruben Amorim. Milan begins the season on Aug. 23 against Torino.
