US confirm Pulisic leg fracture in defeat by Belgium

The United States have confirmed that forward Christian Pulisic fractured his leg during his side's 4-1 World Cup last-16 defeat by Belgium. Pulisic was substituted in the 59th minute shortly after Belgium scored their third goal, having appeared to suffer the injury early in the second half when he kicked the back of Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans' leg while attempting a shot. US Soccer announced that Pulisic has been diagnosed with a microfracture and bone bruise of the tibia/fibula in his right leg. US Soccer and Pulisic's club team, AC Milan, will collaborate on his recovery plan. While no timeframe was given by US Soccer, The Athletic reported that Pulisic "will be sidelined for several weeks but not months." The US players faced widespread criticism in the US media after the heavy defeat, with former US stars Carli Lloyd and Landon Donovan both questioning Pulisic's performance and his early withdrawal from the match.