Christian Pulisic was not with the rest of the U.S. men’s national team during Monday’s training session, instead working out individually beside the trainers. Nevertheless, “Captain America” is still expected to play in Friday’s second Group D match against Australia in Seattle.
The cautionary move—which a U.S. soccer spokesperson described as a “modified training session”—came after Pulisic left the USMNT’s 4–1 win against Paraguay at halftime after sustaining a kick to the left calf, which sparked some pain from a pre-existing leg injury.
Monday was the USMNT’s first full training session since Friday’s win, with Saturday treated as a recovery day and Sunday as an off-day before preparations got underway at the team’s base camp in Irvine, Calif. for the matchup against the Socceroos.
“Christian will be ready, everyone. Let’s relax,” star midfielder Tyler Adams said Monday. “I think he picked up a knock a few days before the match and got kicked in the same spot again during the match.”
Pulisic had told FOX Sports directly after the match: “I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, so I’m really hoping that it’s nothing...Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I'm hoping I'll be fine in the next few days.”
Pulisic’s Worrisome Injury History
While Pulisic’s teammates dismissed concerns about his ailment and the possibility of him missing the Australia match, the knock suffered against Paraguay raises some worries, given the star attacking midfielder’s injury history, which sidelined him for 56 days in 2025-26 with AC Milan.
The 27-year-old most recently missed eight days of action due to a strain of the thigh and gluteal muscles, while Bursitis in his hip held him out for 17 days before that. Other injuries through this season included several muscular problems and a hamstring injury.
If he is unavailable, Sebastian Berhalter could get more minutes in the role, having replaced Pulisic at half time. Another option could be to shift Antonee Robinson into a higher position down the left side, or bring in one of Brenden Aaronson or Max Arfsten.
After the USMNT’s clash on Friday, the team will return to Irvine for another week of training before taking on Türkiye in the Group D finale on June 25.
