U.S. international and AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg, resulting in him being sidelined for several weeks, as confirmed by U.S. Soccer on Thursday.
“Christian Pulisic has been diagnosed with a microfracture and bone bruise of the tibia/fibula in his right leg sustained during the match against Belgium. U.S. Soccer and AC Milan will work together to develop a recovery plan,” the organization announced in a statement.
Pulisic underwent an X-ray and MRI on Tuesday. The Athletic was the first to break the news.
The injury occurred just seven minutes into the second half of the U.S.’s 4-1 defeat to Belgium, when Pulisic attempted a shot but collided with midfielder Youri Tielemans‘ leg.
Pulisic attempted to continue playing for several minutes before being substituted for Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute, following a mistake by goalkeeper Matt Freese that allowed Belgium’s Hans Vanaken to score their third goal.
“I just completely twisted my ankle and knee in that play,” Pulisic reflected after the game. “It’s unfortunate, but I have time to recover.”
Pulisic faced multiple injuries throughout the tournament. In addition to the microfracture, he also dealt with a calf injury, which he originally suffered during training two days prior to the team’s opener against Paraguay.
This calf injury was aggravated during the match against Paraguay, leading to his substitution at halftime.
Subsequently, he was unable to participate in the match against Australia and played only 32 minutes against Türkiye before returning to the starting lineup, where he played 88 minutes in the 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
A source has informed ESPN that Pulisic is expected to be out for four to six weeks, aiming to return to training with AC Milan sometime in August.
Upon return, he will begin working under new Milan manager Ruben Amorim, with the team’s season opener scheduled for August 23 against Torino.