On Saturday, left winger Christian Pulisic reminded everyone just how critical he is to the Chelsea attack, and how big a part he must play in the plans moving forward. He scored within the first five minutes of the FA Cup final against Arsenal, but then injured his hamstring in the 46′ while splitting defenders and making a move on the opposing goal.
Bravely, he still took a couple extra strides and even fired a shot despite already realizing he injured himself. Chelsea never scored after Pulisic’s opener, and they went on to lose the title match 2-1. Moreover, the Blues final third was a shadow of itself sans Pulisic.
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The American is out for Saturday’s UCL group stage clash at Bayern Munich, and given the situation, it’s likely the side’s final clash of the 2019/20 season.
Down 0-3, on heading into the road leg of the round of 16 clash, it’s highly unlikely Chelsea overturn this tie and advance.
Adding to the unlikelihood is the fact that Chelsea will be without not just Pulisic, but four more key players due to injury or suspension.
As for how long Pulisic will be out, well Chelsea doesn’t play again until mid-Sept when the Premier League returns. It’s safe to say that the 21-year-old will be fit for next season’s curtain raiser, given the the message (see above) he posted on his Instagram account after the final.
Pulisic wrote: “Gave it everything we had. Wasn’t our day. Thank you guys for your support I’ll be back in no time.”
So the injury isn’t too serious then and we can safely bet on Pennsylvanian Messi being back for the start of the 20/21 season. Of course, hamstrings can be tricky, so relapses can often occur. Pulisic missed significant time this season due to a different injury, in the adductor muscle, and suffered a relapse in February, having made a recovery at that time.
He now completes the season with 14 goals in 41 games played, 33 starts and eight substitute appearances. He was an extremely productive player this past season, posting very impressive goals and assists per minutes played metrics for the southwest London club.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is 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,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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