AC Milan faced Juventus in a massive Serie A clash on Saturday, but the Rossoneri started the game without its top attacking player this season.
Christian Pulisic began the match on the bench for AC Milan, just the second game all season that the U.S. men’s national team star hasn’t started for his club side.
The match would eventually end in a 0-0 draw as both teams struggled to generate chances. Pulisic eventually came into the match in the 70th minute, replacing Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
After the game, Fonseca said that Pulisic returned from USMNT duty with a “problem” and wasn’t in shape to play the full match.
“He came from the national team with a problem, yesterday and today we tried but he wasn’t well,” Fonseca said in the post-match press conference.
“I couldn’t let him play more. I took the risk. It didn’t seem like the right time to change players on the fly, we made some substitutions that didn’t have an impact.”
Pulisic came into the match on the back of the international break, where he played 160 of a possible 180 minutes over two legs in the USMNT’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal win over Jamaica.
Two USMNT players did begin the match, with Yunus Musah starting for Milan and Weston McKennie in the lineup for Juventus. The in-form Tim Weah started on the bench for the Bianconeri.
Weah would come on in the 80th minute, making it four USMNT players on the pitch at the same time.
Pulisic entered the game as Milan’s leader on the season both in goals (seven) and assists (four) as the 26-year-old has stamped his authority on the Italian giants in his second season with the club.