USMNT
Why has Pulisic left the USMNT, is he injured?
The USMNT forward has cut short his time with the national team and will return to Italy.
The United States has announced the players who will be leaving their squad ahead of next Tuesday’s match against Mexico. On their Twitter account, they revealed which players will return to their clubs after the friendly against Panama.
Key names Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Marlon Fossey, and Zack Steffen will rejoin their clubs to prepare for upcoming matches. Pulisic and Pepi were crucial in Saturday’s win against Panama, with the Milan winger assisting Yunus Musah’s goal and Pepi scoring the second.
Pulisic out against Mexico and will return to Italy
Pochettino had already hinted that Pulisic might play limited minutes in Saturday’s match due to his heavy workload this year. “He’s playing every game, every minute, and that concerns us. Sometimes we need to protect him. He was a little tired, and we must maintain a good relationship with AC Milan to manage this carefully.”
Full USMNT statement:
Following the USA’s 2-0 shutout win against Panama in the first match under new U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino, five players are departing camp as the team heads to Guadalajara for a rare friendly in Mexico. No additional players will be added to the roster.
Having played a significant amount of minutes in the last month for the USMNT and AC Milan, Christian Pulisic has been released back to his club for load management. Marlon Fossey, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi and Zack Steffen have minor injuries and will return to their clubs for continued evaluation and treatment.
Following the official announcement of Pulisic’s departure, Pochettino reiterated, “as we have said, we are always going to make decisions that are in the best interest of our players and respect the relationship we have with their clubs”.
AC Milan sit 6th in the Italian first division after 7 games played. On 11 points, they are 5 off the top spot, which is occupied by rivals Napoli, managed by Antonio Conte. Pulisic has arguably been their top performer this season and has been in fine form, something which he translated to the national team against Panama. As a result, his absence in the game against Mexico, which is never an easy opponent, is going to be a huge loss for Mauricio Pochettino in just his second game as coach. The USMNT take on Mexico at Estadio Akron in Jalisco, Guadalajara, on Tuesday, Oct. 15 (10:30 p.m ET).