Christian Pulisic is a superstar in the United States and intends to earn a similar standing at club level with Chelsea, but an unfortunate habit of picking up untimely injuries needs to be shaken in west London.
The USMNT star has been on the books at Stamford Bridge since the summer of 2019, when a big-money move was made from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
There have been plenty of highs for the 23-year-old in English football, including a historic Champions League triumph, but he has sat out more games than he would have liked. How many has he missed in total? GOAL takes a look...
Cristian Pulisic injury history: How many games has he missed?
Fitness concerns were never an issue for Pulisic during his days in Germany, with no more than three games sat out for Dortmund through injury at any one time.
Early progress at Chelsea was, however, stunted by an abductor muscle tear in his debut campaign – although a coronavirus-enforced lockdown of sporting action did allow him to recover from that ailment.
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Niggling knocks were proving difficult to shake, though, and another was picked up after scoring in the 2020 FA Cup final against Arsenal.
Muscle complaints have held the American back on a regular basis since then, with his ankle proving to be particularly problematic in the 2021-22 campaign as his number of days off reaches 38.
Absence | Date | Games missed |
|---|---|---|
Muscle bruise | Dec 28-Dec 31, 2019 | 1 |
Abductor muscle tear | Jan 2-June 6, 2020 | 12 |
Calf strain/hamstring injury | Aug 1-Oct 4, 2020 | 7 |
Quarantine | Oct 31-Nov 3, 2020 | 1 |
Muscle injury | Nov 3-Nov 27, 2020 | 4 |
Coronavirus | Aug 18-Aug 30, 2021 | 2 |
Ankle injury | Sep 9-Oct 31, 2021 | 12 |
Total | 38 |
Table correct at time of writing on 26/01/2022
What is Christian Pulisic’s record at Chelsea?
Chelsea invested £58 million ($79m) worth of faith in a player of considerable promise when securing his signature in a deal agreed during the winter window of 2019 – before the Blues were stung with a transfer embargo.
Pulisic agreed a five-year contract with the Blues and made his debut for the club in a 4-0 defeat away at Manchester United on August 11, 2019.
The USMNT star's goal account was not opened until his 10th outing, but that duck was broken in style when bagging a Premier League hat-trick against Burnley in October 2019.
An untimely injury was suffered in January 2020, but Pulisic ended his debut campaign with 11 goals to his name.
He only managed six efforts last season, but did make history by becoming the first American to play in a Champions League final – a contest that Chelsea won 1-0 against domestic rivals Manchester City.
The 2021-22 campaign opened for Pulisic with another medal, in a penalty shoot-out victory over Villarreal in the European Super Cup final, but just one domestic appearance was made before heading back to the treatment table.
Since then, Pulisic has been a regular in Thomas Tuchel’s plans – registering a well-taken goal in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool – but has often been asked to play out of position as his versatility is put to good use.
Questions have been asked of why Chelsea have been using him as a makeshift wing-back and central striker when he is more at home on the left wing, but every effort has been made to do a job for the collective cause.