Christian Pulisic injury update after USMNT fitness ‘problem’

The AC Milan striker was left on the bench for the draw against Juventus this weekend, leaving his place in the Champions League team in doubt.

Christian Pulisic has made an electric start to the 2024/25 season with AC Milan, providing seven goals and five assists in 16 games for the Rossoneri. He continued that good form with a brace for USMNT during the November international break, but suffered a fitness problem last weekend that left him sidelined for Milan.

The 26-year-old started on the bench when Milan hosted rivals Juventus on Saturday, playing just 20 minutes as a substitute in the second half. When asked why Pulisic was not in the starting line-up, head coach Paulo Fonseca revealed he had had a 'problem' during his international duty.

“He came from the national team with a problem, yesterday and today we tried but he wasn't doing well. I couldn't let him play anymore. I took the risk. It didn't seem like the right time to change players straight away, we made a number of changes that had no impact.”

Will Christian Pulisic play for AC Milan against Slovan Bratislava?

After playing two matches for USMNT a week earlier, Pulisic was given extra time to recover. Italian media reported that Pulisic had missed certain AC Milan sessions after returning from the national team.

His absence from the starting XI against Juventus will have been a source of concern for AC Milan fans, but he looks set to be back in contention for the Champions League trip to Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

Milan will be keen to get Pulisic back, but Bratislava head coach Vladimir Weiss has other ideas and admits the American is the player he is most concerned about ahead of Tuesday's clash.

“If I had a choice, I would take out Pulisic,” Weiss revealed. “They will play to win. I expect an attacking line-up with all their best players because they need to win tomorrow to progress.”