Washington, Nov 12 (IANS): After originally being named to the roster last week, Chelsea star Christian Pulisic will miss the US' CONCACAF Nations League matches against Canada and Cuba.

Pulisic was forced to withdraw from the squad after he suffered a hip injury during Chelsea's match against Crystal Palace on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"This was a collaborative decision with the club looking after the best interest of the player," US head coach Gregg Berhalter confirmed on Monday.

"These decisions are always difficult because this group and the coaching staff want nothing more than to have Christian here, but it was a risk we weren't willing to take at this time."

In order to qualify for the knockout round of the inaugural 2019-20 CONCACAF Nations League, the US must win both of their matches against Canada and Cuba and make up a three-goal differential on current Group A leaders Canada.

The US will play against Canada on Friday and take on Cuba on November 19.