Why wasn't Christian Pulisic called up to the USMNT to face Trinidad and Tobago?

The USMNT will take the field again for the CONCACAF Nations League. Gregg Berhalter’s team will square off against Trinidad and Tobago for a two-leg quarterfinal on November 16 and 20, and while they shouldn’t find much trouble getting past the Caribbean rival, they won’t have one of their most prominent players on the pitch.

On top of Tim Weah’s injury, AC Milan star Christian Pulsic will also be out with a hamstring injury. And while the injury isn’t supposed to be serious, soft-tissue ailments tend to linger, which is why they decided to play it safely with their young stars.

Pulilsic couldn’t finish Milan’s UCL clash with Paris Saint-Germain with the hamstring injury. He underwent further testing, but it’s expected to be sidelined for the next couple of weeks, so there was no way he would’ve make it on time.

Berhalter Isn’t Worried About His Stars

Coach Berhalter talked about Weah’s and Pulisic’s injury. He confirmed the extent of their ailments wasn’t all that serious, and predicted it shouldn’t take long before they make it back to the pitch.

“Both of them, it’s not too serious, but unfortunately they aren’t going to be able to participate in this camp,” Berhalter told the media. “We see them on track to get back to play soon, but it’s too short of a deadline [for November camp] so they won’t be involved.”

Notably, there are no shortage of potential replacements for the talented duo. Malik Tillman, Kevin Paredes, brothers Paxten and Brenden Aaronson, Alex Zendejas, and even controversial Gio Reyna. That’s why the coach has full confidence in whoever subs in.

“We’re used to this type of thing,” Berhalter said. “Think about World Cup qualifying and all the adjustments we’ve had to make as guys drop off, particularly this time of year as the pitches get heavy and the game schedules get loaded. Players are always at risk. We’ll adapt, we’ll put guys on the field that are prepared and know what we’re doing on the field, and will make a good impact.”

It’s Gio Reyna’s Chance

Even though it’s been months since the scandal, some still haven’t forgotten about the Gio Reyna situation in the World Cup. He’s been back with the USMNT ever since, but some feel like he still has to gain the group’s confidence back, and this will be a great opportunity to do so:

“Gio made a full return to the lineup in the last national team camp and our objective was to build his fitness not overloading him and getting him into a position where he can go back to Dortmund and play a role and he did that,” Berhalter said of him. “What the next step looks like is yet to be determined but we can certainly envision him being on the field and us being able to push his minutes to help the team win the games.”

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Reyna is obviously one of the most talented young players on Earth, and this could be just what he needs to get back on track.