Christian Pulisic faces yet another spell on the sidelines after he was forced to leave the pitch after just 22 minutes during Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in their Premier League encounter on January 6 after he picked up a knee injury.
He has now been ruled out of action for a while as confirmed by Blues boss Graham Potter.
"Christian [Pulisic] is [out for] a couple of months we think," Potter stated at a press conference on January 11.
How long will Pulisic be out?
While there is no exact time frame for Pulisic's injury lay-off as of yet, he is expected to be out of action for at least two months, which comes at the worst time possible for the USMNT attacker.
He had been starting in every single Premier League game after the restart following the World Cup and seemed to be on his way to winning over Potter after what had been a difficult start to the season.
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Pulisic spent most of the first half of the season warming the bench and was consequently being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this January.
His injury now puts an end to both his resurgence and any talk of a move elsewhere.
GettyWhich Chelsea and USMNT games will Pulisic miss and what is the exact injury?
The 24-year-old winger will not return to the pitch until March as things stand, meaning he will miss up to as much as 10 matches for Chelsea, while also having to watch on from the sidelines when USA return to action.
His USA absence means he will have to settle for sixth spot in the USMNT's all-time top goal scoring charts for now, with Pulisic scoring 22 times in 56 appearances to date.
There is not much out there about the exact extent of the injury, but knee injuries often prove to be problematic and an early return seems unwise.
Here are the games Pulisic is likely to miss for Chelsea and USMNT during his injury lay-off.
Team | Match | Date | Competition |
---|---|---|---|
Chelsea | Fulham vs Chelsea | January 13 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Chelsea vs Crystal Palace | January 15 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Liverpool vs Chelsea | January 21 | Premier League |
USMNT | USA vs Serbia | January 26 | International friendly |
USMNT | USA vs Colombia | January 29 | International friendly |
Chelsea | Chelsea vs Fulham | February 3 | Premier League |
Chelsea | West Ham vs Chelsea | February 11 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Dortmund vs Chelsea | February 15 | Champions League |
Chelsea | Chelsea vs Southampton | February 18 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Tottenham vs Chelsea | February 26 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Chelsea vs Leeds United | March 4 | Premier League |
Chelsea | Chelsea vs Dortmund | March 7 | Champions League |
What is Christian Pulisic's injury history?
Since joining Chelsea in 2019, Pulisic suffered injuries on 12 occasions and has remained out of action for 44 days in total before his latest physical misfortune.
The longest he has remained injured is for 156 days when he had a tear in his abductor's muscle and was out of action between January 2, 2020, to June 6, 2020.
His bad luck hasn't started at Chelsea, however, as he regularly found himself sidelined while at BVB as well.
Season | Injury | Team | Days | Games missed |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021/22 | Ill | Chelsea | 7 | 2 |
2021/22 | Ankle injury | Chelsea | 52 | 12 |
2021/22 | Coronavirus | Chelsea | 12 | 2 |
2020/21 | Muscle injury | Chelsea | 24 | 4 |
2020/21 | Quarantine | Chelsea | 3 | 1 |
2020/21 | Hamstring injury | Chelsea | 63 | 7 |
2020/21 | Calf strain | Chelsea | 21 | 2 |
2019/20 | Calf injury | Chelsea | 1 | - |
2019/20 | Tear in the abductor muscle | Chelsea | 156 | 12 |
2019/20 | Muscle bruise | Chelsea | 3 | 1 |
2019/20 | Groin injury | Chelsea | 12 | - |
2019/20 | Arch pain | Chelsea | 0 | 1 |
2018/19 | Torn muscle bundle | Dortmund | 20 | 3 |
2018/19 | Torn muscle fibre | Dortmund | 16 | |
2018/19 | Muscular problems | Dortmund | 5 | 1 |
2018/19 | Torn muscle fibre | Dortmund | 15 | 2 |
2018/19 | Muscular problems | Dortmund | 17 | 2 |
2017/18 | Influenza | Dortmund | 0 | 1 |
2017/18 | Knock | Dortmund | 0 | - |
2017/18 | Shinbone bruise | Dortmund | 11 | 1 |
2017/18 | Abdominal influenza | Dortmund | 4 | - |
2017/18 | Muscular problems | Dortmund | 7 | 2 |
2017/18 | Calf problems | Dortmund | 3 | 1 |
2017/18 | Muscular problems | Dortmund | 4 | 1 |
2016/17 | Ill | Dortmund | 3 | 1 |
2015/16 | Infection | Dortmund | 7 | - |