Christian Pulisic Leaving USMNT Camp, Out for Friendlies With Injury

The U.S. men's national team's wait to return to action will end on Thursday, but Christian Pulisic's wait will go on a bit longer.

Pulisic will be leaving camp to return to Chelsea on Wednesday, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter announced on a video call with reporters. Pulisic entered camp labeled as "day-to-day" with a hamstring injury that had kept him out of Chelsea's last three matches, and he wasn't able to recover enough to the point where he could participate in Thursday's match at Wales or next Monday's game vs. Panama in Austria.

"Christian is a big part of our group," Berhalter said in a statement. "He has been working through an injury, but it really says a lot that he wanted to come into camp, be around the guys and continue to be a leader with this team."

Pulisic, whose burgeoning career has been beset by a number of muscle injuries, was hurt in a bizarre pregame warmup incident, as he slipped and tweaked his hamstring prior to a match vs. Burnley. After his breakout performances with Chelsea following the Premier League's restart in the summer, he was injured in the FA Cup final vs. Arsenal (a match in which he scored the opening goal) on Aug. 1 and was out for two months before his brief return for the Blues. 

Berhalter indicated that Pulisic was doing some field work and making a lot of progress, adding that "the one thing I do know is that he puts absolutely everything into it. ... He's so focused on getting back on the field."

Following the initial roster release, LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget had been called in to replace Josh Sargent, whose club would not release him due to local coronavirus protocols. Given Lletget is more of an appropriate replacement for Pulisic than he is for Sargent, it was an indication that the Pennsylvania native was going to be hampered at the very least.