Pulisic suffers new injury setback

United States forward Christian Pulisic has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his right leg, U.S. Soccer said on Thursday.

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic (R) vies with Fiorentina's Nicolo Fagioli during a Serie A football match between Fiorentina and AC Milan in Florence, Italy, Jan. 11, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

The 27-year-old AC Milan player sustained the injury in Monday's 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. He was substituted in the 59th minute at Seattle Stadium after trying to play on despite visibly limping.

"Christian Pulisic has ... a microfracture and bone bruise of the tibia/fibula in his right leg suffered during the match against Belgium," it said in a statement on its official website. "U.S. Soccer and AC Milan will be collaborating on his recovery plan."

Pulisic strained a calf muscle in the United States' World Cup opener against Paraguay and missed the game against Australia before returning for the final group-stage clash with Türkiye.

He also featured in the tournament's round-of-32 fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Playing in his second World Cup, Pulisic failed to score in this year's tournament and managed one assist.