Christian Pulisic sustained a bone bruise and a microfracture in his right tibia and fibula during the United States men’s national team’s Round of 16 loss to Belgium at the World Cup, U.S. Soccer confirmed on July 9. The injury occurred in the match played on July 6, when Pulisic exited the game in the 59th minute following a collision with Belgium’s Youri Tielemans.

Pulisic initially described the injury as a twisted ankle and knee after the game. Subsequent medical evaluations, including X-rays and an MRI conducted on July 7, identified the bone bruise and microfracture. U.S. Soccer announced that it will collaborate with Pulisic’s club team, AC Milan, to develop a recovery plan, though no official timeline has been given for his return. Reports suggest the player could resume training with AC Milan ahead of the upcoming Serie A season.

The injury comes after a challenging tournament for Pulisic, marking his second injury during the World Cup. He left the opening group game against Paraguay at halftime due to a left calf injury, which led him to miss the following match against Australia. In the final group stage game against Turkey, he only featured in the second half. Outside of the opening round, he started both the Round of 32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and the subsequent elimination against Belgium.

The physical setbacks fueled criticism from some former U.S. national team players, who questioned Pulisic’s toughness and commitment after he left the match against Belgium. Among the critics, Landon Donovan expressed particularly strong opinions, stating he would have refused to leave the field despite injury. Donovan later emphasized that his comments were made without full knowledge of the injury’s severity. Pulisic’s departure came after attempting to continue despite the pain, eventually coming off after Belgium scored their third goal in the 4-1 final score.

Reflecting on his World Cup experience, Pulisic expressed disappointment with his own performances but praised the U.S. team’s overall efforts. “With one earlier and then another injury now, it just sucked. It was tough. It was difficult for me to deal with,” he said. “But we have a great team. There’s so many guys that stepped up this tournament, that should really be the focus.”