When Christian Pulisic missed the FA Cup semifinal win over Manchester United last weekend, it was due to a mysterious, undisclosed injury. The following Wednesday, he only featured as a substitute, coming in midway through the second half, and absolutely bossing the portion of the game in which he was on the pitch.
He was then heavily involved during the Championship Sunday win over Wolves. Having missed some time for no clear specific reason, speculation mounted as to why he was absent. The American has now said that he didn’t have any injury issues, and that he’s good to go for Saturday’s FA Cup final.
“I never had a real issue. I’m 100% fit,” the 21-year-old said to ESPN.
(Here is a link to the rest of Chelsea’s team news for this clash by the way) Pulisic suffered a nasty adductor injury on New Year’s Day and he missed a significant portion of the season. Having recovered in February, he then suffered a set back, so there had been speculation that it might have flared up again now.
That’s certainly not the case however, and Pulisic has been on a purple patch since the restart.
FA Cup Final FYIs
Kickoff: Aug. 1, Wembley Stadium, 5:30 pm
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal Chelsea
Head to Head: Arsenal wins 76 Draws 59 Chelsea wins 65
TV/Stream: Sky Sports/Sky Go (UK) None/ESPN+ (U.S.)
Odds: Arsenal win 5/2 Chelsea win 5/4
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1
Yes, this competition is certainly Arsenal’s house, so to speak, historically, but we’re picking Lampard’s side to hoist the trophy.
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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