Some people might want to direct an apology towards Christian Pulisic. The USMNT midfielder endured a difficult 2026 World Cup campaign, and was substituted in the 59th minute of the tournament co-hosts’ 4-1 defeat to Belgium. Christian Pulisic suffered a leg injury in the USMNT’s defeat to BelgiumGettyThe 27-year-old’s performances throughout the tournament drew heavy criticism from many, including that of USMNT legend Landon Donovan. However, it has since been revealed that Pulisic suffered a microfracture in his leg during Monday night’s defeat. According to a report from The Athletic, he suffered a bone bruise and microfracture in his leg, which is set to sideline him for several weeks. The positive news is that he is not expected to miss months of action. The AC Milan star appeared to suffer the injury in the 52nd minute after he wound up to take a shot on the edge of the penalty area, only to end up kicking the back of the calf of Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans. Although he tried to play through the injury for a further 10 minutes, he was unable to continue. “I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play,” he said after the match.He was later seen using crutches to aid his walking as the U.S. team arrived back at the team hotel. Had the USMNT advanced to the quarterfinals, Pulisic would have been unable to play any further role in their pursuit of World Cup glory. Carli Lloyd’s comments brought into disrepute Two-time World Cup winner with the USWNT was another to have criticized Pulisic for his lack of desire shown throughout the tournament. In fact, she took to X after the USMNT’s elimination and posted a tweet indirectly referring to Pulisic which read, “You rest when your playing career is over. Period.”More to follow… Stay up to date with the World Cup across all our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ETAll 104 games at the 2026 World Cup will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.