SEATTLE — U.S. men’s soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino indicated Thursday that star forward Christian Pulisic is questionable for Friday’s World Cup match against Australia due to injury.Pulisic’s status for the Group D game here at Lumen Field in Seattle has been uncertain ever since he exited the United States’ World Cup-opening win over Paraguay at halftime.Despite initial optimism that his lower-leg injury was minor, the 27-year-old winger trained separately from teammates all week.Pochettino, speaking at his pre-match news conference Thursday, said that Pulisic is “evolving” and is “much better than” he was after last Friday’s match, but would not say if he will be ready to face Australia.He said he and his assistant coaches would meet with the U.S. team’s performance staff on Thursday night to make a decision on Pulisic’s availability.“We will see,” Pochettino said. “If he is not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game.”“He’s doing a massive effort trying to be ready,” the Argentine added.When asked about who would replace Pulisic in the starting lineup if Pulisic doesn’t play, Pochettino declined to discuss specific options.“Christian is strong and with great mentality, and is (making) a fantastic effort to try to be ready as soon as possible,” Pochettino added.Pulisic entered the tournament without any known health concerns and with immense hype, but two days before last Friday’s opener against Paraguay, “he received a kick” in his leg during a training session, according to Pochettino.Pulisic said he then “got a bit of a kick” in the same left calf area during the first half of the Paraguay game. For 45 minutes, he was excellent and seemingly uninhibited, but Pochettino said that during halftime, Pulisic started to get tight and could not walk. He was replaced by Sebastian Berhalter for the second half.Pochettino and Pulisic both indicated that the substitution was precautionary. The U.S. was up 3-0 at the time. “I hope it’s not a big issue,” Pochettino said Friday after the match. He added that he hoped Pulisic would be available for the Australia game. Pulisic also said he was “really hoping that it’s nothing. … I’m hoping I’ll be fine the next few days.”But on Monday, he trained on a far field, far away from teammates, and in a makeshift gym. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he completed two more “modified training” sessions. In the 15-30 minutes per session open to reporters and cameras, he was seen doing lateral jumps and single-leg hops; he spent time in the gym, but also on the field doing very light ball work. On Wednesday, he had a black compression sleeve over his left calf, and remained “day-to-day,” according to a team spokesman.On Thursday, as he walked toward a pre-warmup huddle trailed by members of the performance staff, he again wore the sleeve. For the fourth straight day, reporters craned their necks — and even used binoculars, or squinted through the late-morning sun — to scrutinize his movements.Teammates, meanwhile, slightly changed their tune.Pulisic has been taking part in “modified training” sessions. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)Earlier in the week, they sounded unconcerned. “Christian will be ready, everyone, let’s relax,” midfielder Tyler Adams said Monday.But on Thursday, when asked how Pulisic was doing, another teammate and longtime friend, Weston McKennie, said: “As far as recovery, I don’t really know, to be fair. … Hopefully he can be there tomorrow. I know he really wants to be and he’s doing everything he can, and the staff is doing everything they can as well. But, that’s a question that’s probably better to ask him rather than me. I’m in my own la la land.”When asked how Pulisic was doing mentally, having had his World Cup moment immediately interrupted by injury, McKennie said: “Mentally, he’s great. He’s being able to play in a World Cup, and he’s here on home soil. Family’s out here. We’re not staying at a bad hotel — I mean, we get to wake up and see the beach. So I think it’s really hard for someone’s mental game to be messed up in these conditions. And U.S. Soccer and all the guys around, we’re like a big family, and we’re always there to pick someone up if they’re down, and to (uplift) them even further if they’re not. So yeah, I think he’s doing good mentally.”If Pulisic can’t play, there is no obvious, like-for-like replacement. No player on the U.S. bench can replicate Pulisic’s dynamic dribbling, nor his combination of creativity and finishing.Among the potential replacements are Gio Reyna, Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson. Each can reproduce one or a few of Pulisic’s key qualities but not all of them.Another option for Pochettino would be returning Malik Tillman to an attacking role and introducing an extra central midfielder — either Cristian Roldan or Berhalter — next to Adams.Either way, Friday’s match could be pivotal. The winner will be atop Group D, as the overwhelming favorite to win the group and get a favorable knockout-round draw. The loser would have less than a 5 percent chance to win the group, according to The Athletic’s forecast.