With club soccer returning this weekend American fans might be asking questions like: Why is Pulisic not playing? Where’s Gio Reyna?
Christian Pulisic will likely miss Chelsea’s Premier League game vs. Aston Villa on Saturday while Gio Reyna is set to sit out Borussia Dortmund’s massive Der Klassiker clash with Bayern Munich. Both American players are dealing with “severe colds.”
Christian Pulisic 'has a heavy cold' per Graham Potter and is likely to miss Chelsea's match against Aston Villa tomorrow.
Gio Reyna will also miss Saturday's Der Klassiker due to a cold, Edin Terzić confirmed.Tough pic.twitter.com/iTVrmyY5ao
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) March 31, 2023
❌ Thiago Silva
❌ César Azpilicueta
❌ Raheem Sterling
❌ Wesley Fofana
⏳ Christian Pulisic
✅ Mason Mount
✅ Kai Havertz
✅ Reece JamesGraham Potter gives a team news update surrounding Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/iuYEKcfwtg— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 31, 2023
Edin Terzic on the staff: “Unfortunately, Gio Reyna and Thomas Meunier will be out. Gio has a cold and has been lying flat since yesterday. Thomas Meunier complains of back problems and had to stop training yesterday." pic.twitter.com/RRi2MnxhB7
— ari (@aritrabvb1909) March 31, 2023
It’s likely that the two USMNT stars picked up the illness while on international duty. Fans suspect that the likely culprit for spreading the sickness was Weston McKennie.
Reporter Meg Swanick spoke with USMNT interim head coach Anthony Hudson after the El Salvador game on Monday. Hudson said that McKennie had the flu while playing the game.
Hudson said he went to give Weston a hug after he came off, but thought to stear clear, adding he's battling a bit of something
— Meg Swanick (@Meg_Swanick) March 28, 2023
“Weston has been great. I think he had a little bit of a fever tonight. Coming off, I went to give him a hug and I just refrained myself from getting anywhere near him because he's having some struggles. He was struggling a little bit tonight, flu wise, but he did it,” Hudson told reporters.
McKennie was clearly able to play through the illness and should be expected to feature in Leeds United’s massive game against Arsenal on Saturday.
It hasn’t been reported yet if any other players from the USMNT’s March camp also got sick.
