AUSTIN, Texas — Mauricio Pochettino meant what he said about protecting the health of his players.
Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Marlon Fossey and Zack Steffen will return to their clubs and miss Tuesday’s friendly against archrival Mexico in Guadalajara. They won’t be replaced on the roster, leaving the U.S. men’s national team with 20 players against El Tri.
A successful European club coach before taking over the USMNT, Pochettino understands better than most the delicate balance between players wanting to represent their countries and clubs not wanting them to risk injury. He expressed concern about Pulisic’s workload ahead of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Panama, in which the U.S. star had an assist, and left McKennie on the bench because the regular starter was a little banged up when he arrived in camp.
“I told you that we were going to analyze and (evaluate) the health of the player,” Pochettino said when asked why McKennie didn’t play against Panama, adding that it’s “common sense” not to put players who aren’t fully fit at risk for what is, essentially, a meaningless game.
“We need him 100% in his club. And, of course, next time, whether that’s Tuesday or in the next camp, be 100% to help the team to achieve the thing that we want.”
U.S. Soccer said McKennie, Pepi, Fossey and Steffen all have minor injuries. Pepi was the only one of the four who played against Panama, coming on in the 67th minute and scoring deep in stoppage time.
Pulisic’s departure was classified as “load management,” which doesn’t come as a surprise given what Pochettino had already said.
Pulisic has had a goal or an assist in all but three of his last 12 games for club and country, and Pochettino on Friday called him “one of the best offensive players in the world.” But Pochettino also said he was worried about overworking his new star player.
Pulisic has appeared in every one of AC Milan’s nine games this season, playing 70 minutes or more in eight of them. Coach Paulo Fonseca had already indicated Pulisic would play in the Serie A match against Udinese next Saturday, which would have meant a very quick turnaround if he’d stayed with the USMNT for the Mexico game.
“We are a little bit worried,” Pochettino said. “Sometime we (might) need to protect (him). We’ll see.
“(I want) to build a very good relationship with the club and try to help,” Pochettino added. “And when we really need him, then he’ll need to be in form, happy, strong. The quality is there because he has an enormous talent. He’s a fantastic player.”