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The United States have confirmed that forward Christian Pulisic broke his leg during the 4-1 loss to Belgium in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Pulisic was substituted in the 59th minute just after Belgium scored their third goal in Seattle.
The 27-year-old suffered the injury early in the second half as he attempted a shot but instead kicked Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans in the leg.
“Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture of the tibia/fibula and bone contusion in his right leg during the match against Belgium,” the US Soccer Federation said in a statement on social media.
US Soccer and Pulisic’s club team, AC Milan, will cooperate with his recovery plan.
The U.S. players were widely criticized in the U.S. media after falling to their biggest World Cup defeat in 36 years, with Pulisic’s early withdrawal questioned.
“I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic. Whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game – and really, the whole World Cup. Little flashes here and there,” said US all-time leading goal scorer Carli Lloyd.
Recalling Pulisic’s decision to sit out the Gold Cup in 2025 to rest and recover a year before the World Cup, he posted on X: “When your playing career is over you rest. Period.”
Landon Donovan, the USA’s all-time leading scorer at the men’s World Cup, said: “I used to punch the doctor in the face and say, ‘You’re not taking me off the field’.”
Although US Soccer has not given a timeline for Pulisic’s recovery, he will not be able to play if his team advances to the quarterfinals.
The Athletic reported that Pulisic “will be sidelined for a few weeks but not months,” citing multiple people briefed on the diagnosis.
AC Milan open their Serie A campaign against Torino on 23 August.
