Christian Pulisic has exclusively told NBC Sports that he was determined to prove all of his doubters wrong ahead of his perfect hat trick against Burnley back in October, and has provided Chelsea fans with a very positive injury update.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
The USMNT and Chelsea star, still just 21 years old, had a tough start to his first season in the Premier League after a $73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund but the Pennsylvanian winger burst onto the scene with his treble at Burnley.
Speaking to our own Rebecca Lowe in the latest version of Inside the Mind — which you can watch in full in the video above — Pulisic looked back on the biggest moment of his Chelsea career, so far.
“It was my first start in a little while and I just had this motivation to go out and prove a lot of people wrong,” Pulisic said. “I thought I had done okay so far but I hadn’t really shown everything that I could do so I think going into that game I had a kind of chip on my shoulder to go out and to prove to everyone. Once that first goal came my confidence just shot through the roof and I think it was just my day and everything just fell into place.”
Pulisic has scored six goals in all competitions in his debut season at Chelsea and he was in fine form heading into the busy festive period as the Blues remain in the top four battle after a topsy-turvy season under new manager, and Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard.
However, injury struck for Pulisic in early January and he’s not played for Chelsea since Jan. 1 in the 1-1 draw at Brighton as the west London club have admitted to ProSoccerTalk that they’ve missed his creative influence in the final third.
Pulisic told Lowe that he has recovered fully from his adductor injury and is ready to roll when the Premier League season returns, as this injury update will be welcomed by fans of the Blues and the Stars and Stripes.
“I’d say I’m fully recovered. I am ready to go as soon as we get back. I am really looking forward to that,” Pulisic said. “I was back with the team in full training just before this whole thing started. I am excited for everything to get back started because I’m feeling really good and anxious to play again.”
The current plan for ‘Project Restart’ is for group training to return on May 18 and the 2019-20 Premier League season to resume on June 12 and if that is the case, Pulisic will be fit and raring to go.
That’s great news for Chelsea and USMNT fans everywhere.
