Christian Pulisic became the first U.S. Men’s National Team player to score in an FA Cup, but ultimately the in-form winger couldn’t finish the game.
The Chelsea star needed only six minutes to give Frank Lampard’s side an early advantage over Arsenal at Wembley Stadium. However, Pulisic left four minutes into the second-half after suffering a hamstring injury.
Chelsea would lose 2-1 after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a brace for the fellow London club.
Pulisic’s opener came off great passing from Mason Mount and striker Olivier Giroud.
Giroud laid a pass off to Pulisic who danced his way between two Arsenal defenders and chipped a shot over Emiliano Martinez. It was Pulisic’s 11th goal of the season in all competitions and his first in the historic cup tournament.
CHRISTIAN PULISIC GIVES CHELSEA THE LEAD INSIDE FIVE MINUTES! pic.twitter.com/PIB2hDymW1
— ESPN (@espn) August 1, 2020
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Pulisic’s day ended early though after limping off in the 49th minute. It was a sad ending for Pulisic who was one of Chelsea’s top performers in the match.
There is no timetable for Pulisic’s return with Chelsea set to face Bayern Munich next week in Champions League play. The Blues are down 3-0 on aggregate heading into the second leg of Round of 16 action.
He had a short break from last year going from gold cup to preseason and never really had the rest he needed and then picks up a few injuries then gets the covid break and plays a lot of games in a short period of time where injuries are probably going to happen. It sucks for him cuz he was in best form of his life but as a young player he needs rest and this might help him realize that. Load management should be key for next year and see how that goes.
2 Chelsea players dropped today with hamstring injuries. I am surprised it was only 2 so far. These types of injuries occur from over exertion and a lack of rest between games. Chelsea, and Pulisic, are paying the price for a condensed match schedule. Bayern Munich will advance next week, and all the players And their bodies will get much needed rest.
let’s not forget that CP missed the ManU game and didn’t start in the subsequent game either because of injury…..all of this is of course after being injured before Covid-19 stopped every league for several months, he had time off during Covid-19(as did everyone else)and he was frequently injury prone at Dortmund too. Let’s be honest guys, he’s injury prone to date, although niggling injuries, but susceptible to injuries nonetheless.
Too bad. He was excellent. Very tough to watch — hamstring injuries are probably the easiest thing for an experienced sports viewer to spot, and it was very obvious here. We all remember the immediate realization that Jozy’s World Cup was done after 20 minutes against Ghana in 2014.
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It’s a pity as he will almost certainly miss Chelsea’s (limited) preseason, and will have to force his way back in to an even-more-packed set of attacking MF players. But, he’s shown he’s got the goods. Right now, I just don’t see a point in rushing it.
The hope is that his body can fortify itself over the next couple years, and that from 23-28 he enjoys a comparatively injury free stretch.
No doubt though, this is the 4th or 5th red flag that, among other flags, that yes, unfortunately the kid is very injury prone.
He’s only 21. But the nature and history of his injuries does not bode well. Again, the hope is that he continues to work with Burrows to fortify his body, and as he grows up his body plus addes wisdom contribute to him being able to play and start and least 30 league games a season, and then add on the extra fixtures etc. But from 23-28 we’ll either get used to a new pulisic, or we’ll be dealing with much of the same.
Unless he truly is biologically disadvantaged, we ought to see him become much more consistent in his health starting right about next season
Hamstring injuries are a very touchy injury that can have a range of recovery timelines….and unless 100% healed can be easily re-injured. We’ll have to wait to see how badly Pulisic’s injury really is, and how Chelsea handles his recovery.
The good news, at least for USMNT fans, is that there are a number of promising prospects within the player pool who will hopefully be given the chance to prove that they can contribute to WCQ. Reyna, in particular….but we will also hopefully have Weah & Uli to help take some of the creative/offensive burden off Pulisic.
Having dealt with hammy problems including a brutal tear off the bone, the explosion from 0 to 50 makes it happen, like when CP was exploding to get away at mid field on that play. then as soon as you feel any twinge, must shut down immediately and go to ground. I give him credit for the grit to try and finish that play in a final on the breakaway, but the extra damage endured looks to be pretty bad; he did not go to ground when he felt the twinge, then that shot looks to have exploded his hamstring
Chelsea just calling it a strain and he seemed to be standing comfortably at the end of the match. Of course they will need to do scans to see the extent. Frank said he will not play next week against Bayern. With the opening of the EPL 2020-21 a month away I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses the first couple weeks as well.
we’ll see. the replay showed him grimacing a few steps before the shot, and she just crumpled after that. Like Lost in Space said, how Lampard and Chelsea manage this will be interesting to follow. Just looked up Lampard’s own injury history. Once he missed 21 days, the other, 13 days. Those are minor little strains, not tears or ruptures. It took over a year for mine to fully heal, not uncommon depending on the extent of the injury, AND if you rush back or are rushed back
that is, Lapmpard missed 21 days and 13 days with minor hamstring pulls. CP’s did not look minor but we’ll see
Yeah didn’t look good. Obviously, they wouldn’t have had scans already after the match but Frank’s made it sound like the trainers didn’t think it was catastrophic.
Brutal for Pulisic. Highest high to lowest low and another long injury timeout. When guys get injured this often early in a career, it’s hard to imagine longevity. Hopefully, he’s a good healer and has many elite years left.
The only silver lining I can take from it is that it will force the USMNT not to become overly reliant upon him and to build a balanced team that doesn’t revolve around him specifically. When he’s available, he’ll be a difference maker, but it sure seems that we’ll have to be prepared to play without him as often as we play with him.
I suppose that’s not much of a silver lining…
I agree with the sentiment, but fundamentally it isn’t as if without Pulisic we will have some other brilliant player or somehow compensate with a great system. I was a lot younger, but I really took for granted how durable Donovan, Beasley, and others from the late 90s and 2000s were.
I think it was clear before this game that the US had to seriously think about Pulisic not being healthy when he’s most needed. During the World Cup(s), that is.
I have seen the future. It is 2027. After missing about half his career thus far due to serious injuries, Pulisic is reinventing himself as a defensive midfielder for the Philadelphia Union.
Beautiful sequence for the goal and Chelsea’s only spark in attack, but just blew his hammy. This is not a minor tweak.
And he gets hurt. Surprise Surprise