Christian Pulisic was once asked by a reporter if he’s injury-prone, and of course he rejected the narrative. Pretty much any top tier professional athlete would, as there really is only one way to answer that question.
Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be true. Pulisic suffered an ankle injury during the last international break, during the United States’ World Cup Qualifying win over Honduras. He’s been out of action ever since, and he’s confirmed out for the London derby at Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow.
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This ankle injury came on the heels of Pulisic having to miss time due to contracting covid-19. As a fully vaccinated individual in prime physical shape, the covid effects were minimal to non-existent, but he still had to miss out on game and training time.
At least his latest injury setback looks to be a short one.
“There is good news on Christian Pulisic,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said yesterday.
“Christian is in individual training and is trying to come back as fast as possible to join in with full training.
“He’s not in the squad this weekend, as the game comes too early for him, but he is working hard on his fitness.”
That is definitely good news, as it means Pulisic won’t be out very long/much longer, but it really is a continuation of a misfortunate trend. He’s really only had one real preseason with Chelsea, the one preluding this term. And that was an important one, given how last campaign was very injury-riddled for him.
He had re-occurring fitness issues while he was at Borussia Dortmund too, and his injury history always has USMNT supporters on edge. He’s Captain America, the face of the USA squad and his availability is always of paramount importance.
The only thing we can do is look forward, and Pulisic might make his return for the League Cup match, in mid-week against Aston Villa.
Or maybe his come back will be in the massive crunch clash, against Manchester City on Saturday, Sept. 25, a match that should have huge title implications. Either way, expect the American to be eased back into it, with his minutes being managed.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “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 and the Chicago Tribune.
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