Report: USMNT star Pulisic won't play in Gold Cup this summer

Christian Pulisic will not be included when United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino names his squad for this summer's Gold Cup, sources told Doug McIntyre of FOX Sports.

Pulisic, the U.S. men's national team's marquee player and most talented forward, is "beaten up physically" after consecutive grueling seasons with AC Milan, McIntyre adds. The 26-year-old will set a new career high for minutes played in a single campaign if he surpasses 49 minutes in Milan's season finale against Monza on Saturday.

The match will be his 50th of the season across all competitions.

Keeping Pulisic healthy ahead of next summer's World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, factored into the Gold Cup decision, reports McIntyre.

Pulisic battled a hip flexor issue as recently as March, but it's unclear if that's the main reason he's sitting out the upcoming event, sources told Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

The Gold Cup begins June 14 and is hosted primarily in the United States. The U.S., a seven-time winner of the tournament, will meet old foe Trinidad & Tobago on June 15 before closing out group play against Haiti and guest nation Saudi Arabia.

Pochettino is scheduled to unveil his final 26-man squad Thursday.

He'll also be without stalwarts Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, as the Juventus duo will compete in the revamped Club World Cup, which is being held in the U.S. concurrently with the CONCACAF tournament. Familiar USMNT faces like Giovanni Reyna, Jordan Morris, and Cristian Roldan are unavailable for the same reason.

Pochettino said the dueling tournaments will force the U.S. to "get by without players that would normally be with us," per McIntyre.

Milan, who can finish no better than seventh in Serie A this year, aren't in this summer's Club World Cup. Pulisic leads the Rossoneri in goals (17) and goal involvements (27) across all competitions this season.