Christian Pulisic reported back to Milanello this morning rather than joining the rest of the squad on Milan's tour of Australia, as MilanNews report.
The split matters because of who Pulisic is to this side. He was Milan's best attacking output last season and Amorim's plans lean heavily on him, so any physical doubt over the American at the start of a campaign is worth watching rather than filing away. There was never any surprise about the delayed start, though. His deep run at the World Cup with the United States pushed his pre-season back, and the club built that into the schedule.
Pulisic arrived at the training ground at around 10 AM, according to MilanNews, and will work alone as he recovers from a bone oedema at the tibia-fibula junction. That sounds worse than the club is treating it. There is no alarm internally, and the target is clear: Amorim wants him fit for the Serie A opener against Torino.
The obvious question is what happens to the left-sided attacking role while he builds up. With Pulisic training apart from the group and Rafael Leão's situation still unsettled, that spot is effectively open on tour, and whoever fills it is auditioning for the back-up job rather than the starting one.
Pulisic scored 17 goals across all competitions last season, a return no other Milan attacker came close to, which is why the club can afford to be patient with him and impatient with everyone else. Get him to Torino in one piece and the rest sorts itself out.