Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that the USMNT will make a last-minute call on whether Christian Pulisic is ready to face Australia on Friday.
The winger, who is the face of Pochettino’s team, was taken off at halftime of the USA’s World Cup opener against Paraguay. He received a kick to the back of his left leg that left him struggling to walk. He had taken a knock to a similar area in training a couple of days earlier.
Since then, Pulisic has been on a ‘modified,’ individual training schedule, sparking fears that he will miss Friday’s game in Seattle.
Pochettino addressed the winger’s fitness in his pre-game press conference, revealing that he will have a meeting with medical staff hours before the game.
‘He was training in an individual way the whole week but like always the day before the game we have a meeting with our medical staff and we will assess the whole group,’ Pochettino said. ‘And tomorrow we will communicate.’
The USA coach insisted Pulisic – who was seen wearing a compression sleeve earlier this week – is in a ‘much better’ condition than when he came off against Paraguay.
The USMNT will make a last-minute call on whether Christian Pulisic is ready to face Australia
‘We will see,’ Pochettino added. ‘If he’s not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game [against Turkey]… he’s doing a massive effort to be available.’
Pochettino added: ‘Christian is strong, with a great mentality and he’s doing his best to be ready as soon as possible.’
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