Christian Pulisic, 27, is expected to return to the US Men’s National Team lineup for their final World Cup group match against Turkey on June 25, 2026, after recovering from a calf injury sustained before the tournament began [1, 2].
Pulisic suffered the injury days before the US opened their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 12. He described it as a “big kick to the calf” causing a contusion or strain during training sessions just prior to the match [1]. Despite the discomfort, he played the first half of the Paraguay game but was substituted at halftime due to increasing pain [1, 2, 3].
He missed the next US match against Australia on June 19, though he remained involved with individual training during that time to maintain fitness [4, 3]. Pulisic told reporters he never feared the injury was worse, saying, “I was pushing, and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game... but it wasn’t quite ready” [3].
On June 22, Pulisic rejoined the full training group without a calf sleeve and participated in all team exercises [4, 3]. As of June 24, he expressed confidence about his condition, stating, “I’m feeling good, feeling positive, and hopefully I’ll be able to play a part tomorrow,” adding he felt “100%” in recent days [1, 5].
Midfielder Alex Zendejas commented on Pulisic’s recovery process, emphasizing the mental challenges, saying, “It’s a tough situation when you go through a small knock during an important tournament… you try to get his mind off of it” [4].
The US has already secured advancement into the knockout rounds, making the match against Turkey a dead rubber. Pulisic’s exact minutes will depend on his fitness and coaching decisions [1, 2]. The team will face Turkey on June 25, with Pulisic expected to be available for selection [1, 2, 3, 5].
