It’s not been the easiest start to the season for Christian Pulisic. He wasn’t able to have a proper preseason and also missed the first few weeks of the season due to an injury he suffered in Chelsea‘s FA Cup final loss back in August.
Then, he returned for a few matches, and as soon as he was finally back to full fitness, he injured himself again in the warmups prior to the Burnley match. He has missed the past three games, but despite that, he has joined up with USMNT for the upcoming friendlies against Wales and Panama.
Chelsea Star Pulisic Joins USMNT Despite Injury
Player Fitness Remains Partially Unknown
Although he is in the squad, US head coach Gregg Berhalter is still unsure about Pulisic’s availability.
“Christian is in camp and he is listed as day-to-day,” Berhalter told Fox Sport. “It really says a lot about Christian that he wasn’t playing for Chelsea but still wanted to come into this camp and be around the team. Like I said, his status is day-to-day.”
With the 22-year-old having not played in a few weeks, it may not be wise to risk him as he’s looking to finally move past his injury troubles, especially for mere friendlies. Therefore, it’s very possible that Pulisic could just be there to support his teammates and develop a closer relationship with them off the pitch.
As one of the main leaders in the team, Pulisic knows it’s important to be around the players, and his presence will be felt even if he doesn’t play. As Berhalter said, his determination to join the camp with the possibility of not playing a single minute shows his commitment to his national team.
Promising New American Team
“Out with the old, in with the new” seems to be the message from manager Berhalter with his latest squad announcement. Veterans such as captain Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore have been left at home, and talented youngsters like Konrad de la Fuente and Gio Reyna are in line to make their debuts.
The failure to even qualify for the 2018 World Cup was shocking, and it was obvious that a change was needed. With a new generation of bright American youth players rising up through the ranks, the future looks far brighter now than it did two years ago.
Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards make up the rest of what is an exciting young core. Hopefully, they can help transform American football for years to come.
They will have a chance to prove themselves further during this international break. Whether or not we’ll see Pulisic, though, remains unclear.
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