US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino offered very little clarity on the injury status of playmaker Christian Pulisic on Thursday, casting further doubt on his availability before the Americans’ second World Cup group-stage match against Australia on Friday.
“I think as you know he was training individually all week,” Pochettino told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “Like always, I think tonight or the day before the game we have a meeting with our medical area, we will assess the whole group, and tomorrow we will communicate if we agree on something tonight. He is evolving, he is much better from Friday, we’ll see.”
Pulisic injured his calf in training last week and was pulled at half-time of the USMNT’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay after aggravating the injury. He has been following what US Soccer has deemed a “modified training program” ever since, with US players and coaches offering little else in the way of clarity.
The Milan midfielder was not seen with the full group in the portions of training open to media this week at the team’s training base in Irvine, California. Pulisic was in the auxiliary gym next to the team’s training pitch on Monday and Tuesday, then emerged on to the field with trainers doing drills with a ball on Wednesday.
After arriving in Seattle, Pulisic trained separately from the rest of the squad again on Thursday at the University of Washington’s soccer complex. He was briefly spotted on the training pitch during a huddle before the session began in earnest, sporting a wrap around his left calf. Pulisic then disappeared into a nearby training facility, accompanied by US performance staffers, and was not seen again during the portion of training open to media.
The tenor from Pulisic’s teammates has evolved through the week.
“I know he really wants to be [on the field tomorrow],” said US midfielder Weston McKennie on Thursday. “And he’s doing everything that he can and the staff is doing everything that they can as well.”
Brenden Aaronson, speaking Wednesday, said similar. “We’re really hoping that Christian’s going to be back for the game, of course,” he said. “We know that he’s going to give us his all to get back into the team and be there for the game.
On Tuesday, Tim Weah said, “I think [Pulisic will] be ready for the game and ready to be with the team … I’m just praying to God that he feels 100% fit.”
“Christian will be ready, everyone. Let’s relax,” midfielder Tyler Adams said on Monday. “He’ll be fine.”
The US could go several different routes in terms of replacing Pulisic. Pochettino could adjusting his approach further back in the starting XI, roll out an in-form Gio Reyna or deploy Aaronson. Undeniably, though, the absence of Pulisic against Australia could prove significant, given how well he played against Paraguay and how much of a central figure he is to the team.
“When this type of thing happens it’s always painful,” said Pochettino. “But I think Christian is strong, with a great mentality and is doing a fantastic effort to try and be ready as soon as possible. … He is doing a massive effort to be ready.”
