Explained: 'Problem' that saw USMNT star Christian Pulisic benched by AC Milan for crunch Serie A clash with Weston McKennie & Juventus

United States international Pulisic has become an integral part of the Rossonseri’s plans, with seven goals and four assists being registered this season. With that output taken into account, it was a surprise to see him named among the substitutes for a home date with Juve.

Pulisic did get onto the field in a game that fellow countrymen Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah also graced, but was restricted to a 20-minute cameo role. He was unable to make a match-winning contribution at San Siro as the game in question finished goalless.

Milan boss Paulo Fonseca was quizzed afterwards on why Pulisic was left out of his starting XI, with the Portuguese tactician telling reporters: “He came from the national team with a problem, yesterday and today we tried but he wasn’t well. I couldn’t let him play more. I took the risk. It didn’t seem like the right time to change players on the fly, we made some substitutions that didn’t have an impact.”

Pulisic played 160 minutes for the United States across the two legs of their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final win over Jamaica. No unnecessary gambles are being taken on his fitness, with Milan set to be back in Champions League action on Tuesday when taking in a trip to Slovan Bratislava.