Christian Pulisic Says He Is 'Ready to Play' After Injury Layoff
By Tom Gott
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic says he feels as though he is ready to return for the Blues after a lengthy spell out through injury.
The American picked up a hamstring problem in Chelsea's FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal at the end of last season and has not been seen since, and fans have been desperately calling for some good news about his fitness.
Well, their prayers may finally have been answered by the man himself as Pulisic revealed on video game steaming platform Twitch that he hopes his return could come soon.
"I’ll say that I’m feeling very good, and very ready to play," he said. "I’m missing it a lot."
Chelsea's next game will see Crystal Palace visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime, and while that game will almost certainly come soon for Pulisic to return to the starting lineup, the hope is that he could make it back to the substitutes bench and maybe see a few minutes towards the end of the game.
Ahead of the recent 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion, manager Frank Lampard discussed Pulisic's track record with injuries, admitting that the club are keen to avoid overworking the winger and aggravating any issues.
"There is always a concern about players’ fitness when the history says there has been some injuries and last season we did have it with Christian," Lampard said (via Metro). "I was questioned many times on my position on Christian when he did play and didn’t play.
"Of course, when you look at a player with his recent record, you are trying to find the right way, the right balance of getting the best out of him which we saw in big periods last year and making sure you don’t overcook him and leave him susceptible to injury, particularly a player of his explosive pace and balance. That’s a fine line.
"We are working on that and Christian is also very open to that. He wants to play, he is so hungry to play and he is very nearly fit now but it is certainly something we will have to manage with him this season because we have all seen the talent and it is something we want to get right.
"I am not saying it is a fundamental chronic issue, it’s not. But we want to get as many minutes of the really great Christian we saw lots of last season on the pitch."