United States attacker Christian Pulisic trained apart from the main group in Irvine, California, as the USMNT waited on his calf injury before Friday's World Cup Group D match against Australia in Seattle.
ESPN reported that Pulisic first worked in a field-side gym during Wednesday's session and later moved onto the field with a member of the team's training staff. A U.S. Soccer spokesperson told ESPN that Pulisic had not taken the field at all Tuesday, making Wednesday a step forward but not a full return.
Pulisic Still Short Of Full USMNT Training
The injury dates back to last week, and ESPN reported that Pulisic aggravated the calf issue in the United States' 4-1 win over Paraguay. ESPN's soccer scoreboard verifies that match was played June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The training update leaves the U.S. with a tight decision window. The Australia match is scheduled for June 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle, with ESPN's scoreboard listing kickoff at 19:00 UTC.
Media were permitted to watch only the first 15 minutes of the Wednesday session, according to ESPN, so the visible portion showed a limited workload rather than a full public test of Pulisic's match fitness.
Robinson Says U.S. Has Cover If Needed
U.S. defender Antonee Robinson told ESPN that Pulisic had not been training fully with the group and that the team still had a couple of days to assess him. Robinson also said the squad has bench options ready if Pulisic cannot play.
ESPN listed Giovanni Reyna, Alejandro Zendejas, Timothy Weah and Brenden Aaronson among the players who could step into the attacking group if Pulisic is unavailable. Aaronson said his preparation would not change while the team waits for Pulisic's status.
The comparison inside the U.S. camp is not especially comforting. ESPN noted that defender Chris Richards, who had been dealing with an ankle injury, had already returned to full training at the same point before the previous match week.
Australia Match Carries Group D Weight
The United States opened Group D by beating Paraguay 4-1, and Pulisic's availability now becomes a lineup and game-plan question rather than a broad tournament talking point.
Australia are the next opponent, and the match setting is confirmed: Friday in Seattle at Lumen Field. That gives the U.S. staff one more short runway to determine whether Pulisic can rejoin team training, start from the bench or be held back for later in the group stage.
For a team built around Pulisic's ability to attack space and create chances from wide areas, even a partial limitation changes the shape of the decision. The hard fact from Wednesday is narrower: he was on the field again, but still not with the main group.