IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Christian Pulisic trained apart from his U.S. teammates on Wednesday for the third straight day because of his calf injury, increasing concerns about his availability to face Australia on Friday in the Americans' second game of the World Cup.
Pulisic played a dynamic first half in the Americans' 4-1 victory over Paraguay last week, but came off at halftime after feeling stiffness from a calf injury incurred in training. He hasn't
worked out with his teammates this week at their training base in Orange County, instead doing individual work largely in the gym.
Pulisic didn't work out on the grass at all Tuesday, but the AC Milan attacker took the field at Great Park with trainers and did ball drills on Wednesday. He tested out his left leg while wearing a compression sleeve on his calf during the 15 minutes of practice open to media.
“We’re really hoping that Christian is going to be back for the game, of course,” said Brenden Aaronson, one of Pulisic’s potential replacements. “I don’t really know what’s going on in particular, but we know that he’s going to give us his all to get back in the team and be there for the game, so we’ll see. We’re really excited to see what the deal is.”
Pulisic is the U.S. team's most accomplished player and the lynchpin of their offensive attack. His playmaking and ball skills down the left side led directly to Paraguay’s own-goal in the opening minutes last Friday, and he added an assist on Folarin Balogun’s first goal.
His absence could hinder a team coming off its nation's highest-scoring World Cup performance with a wave of momentum early in its home World Cup. But Pulisic's teammates are confident he'll do everything possible to play — and they also feel the team's depth could sustain them in this potentially physical matchup with the Socceroos in Seattle.
“We’ve still got a couple of days to see where he’s at,” U.S. left back Antonee Robinson said. ”Thankfully we’ve got a lot of boys on the bench who are eager to get involved with helping the team with a lot of quality. It’s a long tournament. If we don’t have (Pulisic) for the game, then we need to make sure we have him for the rest of the way, because we’re going to need him. We’re going to need everyone. But hopefully we have him (Friday).”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino would have several capable options as a replacement for Pulisic, although none has the star’s resume. Starting midfielder Weston McKennie, who had an outstanding game against Paraguay, could ramp up his responsibility as well.
The top two options appear to be Aaronson, a solid Premier League winger who had four goals and five assists for Leeds last season, and Marseilles forward Tim Weah, who can impact a game with his speed on either wing.
Both players are hoping Pulisic will be healthy enough to keep his place in the lineup, however.
“Christian, for me, is one of the top five wingers in the world,” Weah said. “He’s one of my favorite players to watch. Being able to play alongside him for a long time has been amazing. Just the little things that he does, he’s such a humble player. I think you get caught up in a lot of the noise, but Christian is amazing. He showed it against Paraguay. His ability when he’s able to be on the ball is amazing. It helps the team. I’m super proud of him. Hopefully he’ll be ready for Friday.”
Pochettino's other options for offense include Gio Reyna, who scored the Americans’ final goal against Paraguay and has provided moments of dynamic playmaking from the wing for the U.S.
Sebastian Berhalter came on at halftime for Pulisic in the opener, while starting midfielder Malik Tillman raised his already impressive game in Pulisic’s absence.
“I felt like we were still threatening, still creating chances (in the second half),” Robinson said. “We just didn't convert them going forward in the game until Gio scored at the end. Like I said, a lot of people are ready to step in.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
