The severity of the injury Christian Pulisic suffered in Team USA’s FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium has been revealed.
Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and a microfracture in his leg in the second half of Monday’s match, according to multiple reports. He is expected to be sidelined for several weeks, but could be back for the start of the European season in August.
U.S. forward Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and microfracture in his leg during Monday’s World Cup loss to Belgium, and will be sidelined for several weeks but not months, multiple people briefed on the diagnosis told The Athletic.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 9, 2026
Subsequent medical assessments… pic.twitter.com/rIRZcgX8Sx
Pulisic drew significant criticism after the game when he said he had “time to rest” and recover from the injury following the team’s 4-1 loss to Belgium. At that time, Pulisic was simply describing the injury as a severely twisted ankle, but it obviously turned out to be much more than that.
While Team USA’s World Cup campaign looked like a success, the nature of the defeat against Belgium drew widespread backlash. Pulisic’s overall play during the tournament was also a disappointment even before he got hurt, and some of the comments he made after the loss also rubbed people the wrong way.
Pulisic has developed something of a reputation for being injury-prone over the course of his career. The 27-year-old is now facing a race against time to be ready for AC Milan’s opening game of the Italian league season in August.
