Christian Pulisic wants to play.
So he’s uneasy about the lack of minutes he’s been getting to begin Serie A competition at AC Milan in the young season.
Pulisic, 27, has yet to play a second through Milan’s first three league matches this season, leaving the United States men’s national team star frustrated while on the bench.
Pulisic, who started in 20 of his 34 appearances for Milan last season, is coming off a rough World Cup in which Team USA was again eliminated in the Round of 16 and the Pennsylvania native had a forgettable outing.
Milan manager Ruben Amorim acknowledged Pulisic’s frustration ahead of Saturday’s match against Lazio but hardly made it sound like there is trouble brewing between the two.
“Pulisic is upset at the moment because he has zero minutes, and I love that,” Amorim said. “I love that in my players. But he’s ready to play. Let’s not forget he had an injury, then in the first training he had a knock, and he stopped a little bit and returned.”
He also noted that we should expect to see the USMNT staple soon.
“I think you guys are going to see Pulisic,” Amorim told reporters on Friday. “I don’t know if he’s going to start, if he’s going to get on the pitch. I think he’s going to play at least some minutes now.”
Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and microfracture in his right leg during the Round of 16 against Belgium in July.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a top player, I don’t take [out] all the other guys who are doing well to put in any player in the world,” Amorim said. “That is my way of living, and this is the way I’m going to die or finish my career.”
He added, “Pulisic is really important for us. After the [international break], we’ll have eight weeks with three games per week. I think they are going to be tired of playing, so there’ll be time for everyone. Pulisic is really important for us and is going to play a lot of games, but you need to understand the context and history to understand why I do things the way I do. I think you guys will see him this weekend; you will not miss him a lot.”
In 34 showings, Pulisic recorded 10 goals and four assists for Milan last season.
