sports
Pulisic sustains bone bruise and microfracture in US loss to Belgium
The U.S. forward sustained the lower-leg injury seven minutes into the second half of a 4-1 defeat to Belgium. He is expected to miss four to six weeks and return to AC Milan training in August.
Jul 9, 12:27 PM·1m read1 source
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United States forward Christian Pulisic sustained a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg during the team's 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium at the World Cup, ESPN reported. He will be sidelined for several weeks. The injury occurred seven minutes into the second half when Pulisic attempted a shot on goal and struck the back of Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans' leg.
He tried to continue for several minutes before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute after goalkeeper Matt Freese's error allowed Belgium's third goal by Hans Vanaken. "I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play," Pulisic said after the match.
" Pulisic had already been managing a calf injury sustained in training two days before the tournament opener against Paraguay.
He aggravated the issue against Paraguay and was substituted at halftime, then sat out the match against Australia. He played 32 minutes against Türkiye before starting and completing 88 minutes in the 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. A source told ESPN that Pulisic is projected to miss between four and six weeks, with a return to training at AC Milan expected at some point in August.
He will join the club under new manager Ruben Amorim. AC Milan begins its season in August 2026.
