Saturday’s reports suggest that Christian Pulisic might have to settle for a spot on the bench when he returns from international duty with the United States, as Paulo Fonseca intends to have him at his fittest for important clashes against Liverpool and Inter in the week after.
Pulisic could skip Milan clash against Venezia
A hectic schedule and a 16,000 km journey back from the United States are the two main reasons why La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that the USMNT star will be dropped to the bench against Venezia next Saturday.
Pulisic is expected to feature, and probably start in friendlies against Canada and New Zealand on Saturday and Monday night, respectively. He will then make the long journey back over to Italy ahead of the Venezia game this time next week.
It was a similar situation this time last year. Milan had to play Inter immediately after the first international break of the season, and lost 5-1. Pulisic had one of the worst games of his first Milan season.
Milan’s upcoming clash against Venezia will kick-off around 48 hours after Pulisic gets back from his US trip.
As there is likely to be some fatigue involved, he could be afforded a rest ahead of the first Champions League match of the season against Liverpool in San Siro on Tuesday.