How long will Christian Pulisic be out?
This question has been nagging Milan fans ever since Captain America left the pitch in the 30th minute of the friendly match between the United States and Australia during the Italian night between Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday, the Rossoneri club provided the first medical update, following tests delayed by a day due to a late flight that brought the forward back to Italy.
"The MRI revealed a low-grade lesion in the right hamstring. The player will be reassessed in approximately ten days." In other words, Pulisic will certainly miss the matches against Fiorentina, Pisa, and Atalanta. Barring any surprises, the diagnosis leaves little hope for his participation in the San Siro clash against Roma. In purely theoretical terms, Christian could aim for a return on November 9 in Parma, in the last match before the international break, as relayed via La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The feeling, however, is that Milan will take no risks. Bringing Pulisic back just before the break would legitimize a potential call-up to the U.S. national team in November. And given how things went last time, with the Rossoneri’s irritation toward coach Pochettino, who used the player in a friendly despite a shaky ankle, the club would prefer to avoid it. A not insignificant detail: on November 23, the first match after the break, the Milan derby is scheduled. Essentially, Milan will not rush the recovery, aiming instead to have Captain America fresh and rested for the blockbuster clash with Inter.
Critical?
Without Pulisic, Milan loses the joint-top scorer in the current Serie A season (tied with Bologna’s Orsolini at 4 goals) and the most productive player in the entire Italian league over the last two years. Unsurprisingly, in the seven matches the American has missed, the Rossoneri have only won twice, both in the 2024-25 season: once in the Champions League (2-1 against Red Star at San Siro) and once in Serie A (1-0 away at Verona). Of the other five games without Christian, Milan drew three and lost two, a far from stellar record. Given the numbers from this early part of the 2025-26 season, his absence will be felt as early as tomorrow against Fiorentina. Allegri’s team has scored 14 goals across all competitions so far: six were scored by Pulisic, who also provided two assists for another two. In short, Captain America has had a hand in more than half of Milan’s goals.
