Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, has said midfielder Christian Pulisic is “really suffering” following a series of setbacks as he recovers from an ankle injury.
Pulisic hasn’t played for club or country since September 8.
Tuchel has opened up on the struggles the American has endured as he bids to make his mark, having made two appearances for the Premier League side all season.
“He got injured during a match with USA,” Tuchel said.
“It was a tough foul and he hurt his ankle. There is nothing to worry [about] in terms of that we are hiding details or not telling you details. I cannot give you all the details because I am simply not a doctor.
“At the moment, he has some setbacks from pain, not from major injury or from complications. It is simply the pain in the ankle that disturbs him.
“Once these players with these quick movements like Christian, once they feel this pain and are not free in the movement, the recovery is not happening, so you start all over again. You start all over again and reach a certain point and then the pain comes back and you have to do a little pause and start all over again.
“Right now, we are very, very close. He was already so close to come to team training last week and had a little setback and a little reaction, nothing serious, but serious pain. From there, on we go.
“He is very impatient, of course. He does everything and we can see him suffer in every meeting and every time we meet him here in our training centre, he is really suffering. He wants to be on the pitch and help us. Everybody is doing their very best, but unfortunately, the injury takes its time.”
