It remains to be seen how severe, or potentially not severe the latest hamstring issue is for Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic. The phrasing that Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel used to describe the situation is certainly not a good sign at all. Tuchel said Pulisic had to be subbed off at halftime because his hamstring “would not survive” the game. Yikes!
Pulisic scored his second goal of the Premier League season, and first in the Tuchel era yesterday, opening the scoring in the Chelsea’s 5-2 blowout loss to West Bromwich Albion.
Pulisic’s goal, plus his fine form for the internationals, plus the man of the match performance he had in the FA Cup indicates he’s breaking out of his awful slump.
However, this latest hamstring problem could derail that progress instantly. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Tuchel revealed that Pulisic did indeed tweak his hamstring and that was the reason he didn’t play in the second half, despite coming out with the rest of the team for the start of the second 45 minute period.
“Christian did a sprint when he came back out for the second half and said that he felt his hamstring would not survive the game if he continued. So we had to make the decision to substitute him straight away,” Tuchel said.
Here we go again, perhaps, maybe?
No more information about the extent of the injury has been confirmed at this time, but it’s very doubtful we see him on Tuesday, when Chelsea take on FC Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie.
Tuchel’s first Chelsea loss was a very ugly one, but there is little time to dweel on it. They’ll have to rebound and refocus quickly.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.