U.S. star Christian Pulisic fractured leg in World Cup loss to Belgium

U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic fractured his right leg during the Americans’ World Cup loss to Belgium and will be sidelined for several weeks. 

Pulisic, 27, has a bone bruise and a microfracture of his tibia and fibula, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Thursday. The diagnosis was made after an X-ray and MRI on Tuesday.

He would not have been able to play during the remainder of the tournament had the U.S. advanced. 

Pulisic hit a leg of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans while attempting a shot in the 52nd minute of Monday’s round-of-16 loss. He remained in the game but was hobbling. Sebastian Berhalter replaced him in the 59th minute. The final score of the match was 4-1. 

Pulisic did not score in the World Cup, but has a record of 30 goals in 90 international appearances. During the World Cup, he missed one of the USMNT’s five matches because of a calf injury and left two other games early. 

Pulisic is expected to resume training before AC Milan’s Serie A opener at Torino on Aug. 23. This will be his fourth season with Milan. 

The U.S-Belgium game received extra scrutiny when FIFA lifted the red card suspension of U.S. lead scorer Folarin Balogun after a call from President Trump. Mr. Trump has defended his decision to contact the league, which typically does not allow for appeals of red cards

Balogun did not score during the U.S.-Belgium match.