Christian Pulisic set for Serie A debut with AC Milan against Lazio

Three games. Zero minutes. For a player of Christian Pulisic's caliber, that tally starts to sting. But according to AC Milan's own head coach, that frustration is exactly what he wants to see in his squad.

Ruben Amorim, who took over the rossoneri bench this summer after Massimiliano Allegri's departure, admitted Friday that the American forward is "annoyed" about still not having made his debut in this 2026-27 Serie A season. Pulisic stayed on the bench against Torino, Venezia and Juventus, the first three league fixtures of the new Amorim era in Milan.

The good news for American fans is that the wait appears to be ending. Milan travels to face Lazio this Saturday, and everything points to Pulisic featuring, whether from the start or off the bench.

I think you're going to see Pulisic; I don't know if he's going to start or if he's going to come on. I think he's going to play at least a few minutes and I like Pulisic.Ruben Amorim

The Portuguese coach didn't hide that Pulisic's absence from the field has a physical explanation: a bone bruise combined with a stress fracture in the lower leg, a lingering effect of the United States' round-of-16 elimination against Belgium at the World Cup. That blow cut his tournament short and, according to Amorim, required careful management of his return.

Pulisic is annoyed right now because he hasn't played a single minute, and I love that. I love that in my players. But he's ready to play. Let's not forget he had an injury, then in the first training session he took a knock, slowed down a bit and came back.Ruben Amorim

The truth is Milan has done just fine without him on the field. With Amorim in charge, the team notched wins over Torino and Venezia, then drew last week against Juventus. That solid start let the coach make his philosophy clear: not even a star skips the line if the team is working.

"It doesn't matter if you're an elite player, I'm not going to push aside others who are performing well to include any player in the world," Amorim explained, making clear that sporting judgment outweighs any name on the team sheet.

A packed schedule ahead

Amorim also put the calendar on the table as part of his explanation. After the upcoming international break, Milan will face eight weeks with matches three times a week, a stretch that, according to the coach, will end up spreading minutes across the whole squad, Pulisic included.

Before that break, during which the United States national team will play home friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada, Milan still has two more matches besides the Lazio clash.

The World Cup itself left Pulisic with a bitter taste, marked by injuries, despite having skipped the previous summer's Gold Cup specifically to arrive at the tournament at full strength. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino touched on that this week while discussing the shift in mindset within the national program.

It was hard to make the Gold Cup roster the year before because the mentality was different. You'd think: "If I play, I don't get a vacation. I can't arrive fresh for the World Cup." Now you know that's nonsense.Mauricio Pochettino

With Lazio as the next stop, Milan fans and US national team supporters want the same thing: to see Pulisic back on the field.