United States international and AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and a microfracture of his tibia and fibula in the USMNT’s World Cup defeat to Belgium and will be out for a number of weeks
The injury occurred in the 52nd minute of Monday’s round of 16 match in Seattle when Pulisic kicked into the leg of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans while trying to shoot.
He attempted to get through it but was obviously limping before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute. The US would go on to lose the match 4-1, ending their World Cup run.
Breaking: USMNT and AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic sustained a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg against Belgium and will be sidelined for several weeks, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The Athletic was the first to report the news. pic.twitter.com/vCpFoRCPcz
— ESPN (@espn) July 9, 2026
It was the end of a frustrating tournament for the 27-year-old winger who struggled with fitness all along. Pulisic initially suffered a calf injury in a training session two days before the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay but re-injured it in that game and had to be replaced at halftime.
He missed the next group game against Australia, returned as a substitute against Turkiye, played nearly the full game in the round-of-32 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina before picking up the leg injury against Belgium.
Pulisic is expected to be out for about four to six weeks, with a source saying he should be able to start training with AC Milan at some point in August. That would see him back in time for Milan’s Serie A opener, away to Torino on August 23, when he’ll start his first season under new manager Ruben Amorim.
The Athletic first reported the diagnosis before it was confirmed by ESPN and the Associated Press. It’s the latest blow to a World Cup campaign in which Pulisic, one of the USMNT’s most important attacking players, couldn’t find consistent form or fitness throughout the tournament.
