The Americans had drawn their opening two matches in CONCACAF qualifying for Qatar 2022 and fell behind in Honduras when Brayan Moya headed the hosts in front just before the half-hour mark.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter made a triple substitution at the break and that shook his side into action, with Pulisic at the heart of their leveller three minutes into the second period. The Chelsea forward led the charge upfield before Fulham’s Antonee Robinson finished the move with a smart volley.

However, the US captain’s evening was brought to a premature ending after a series of rough tackles left him unable to continue. After the match, Berhalter updated on the nature of the knock, saying: ‘Christian has a slight ankle injury. We’re going to get more information on the severity of it when he goes back to London.’

The 22-year-old had missed the opening qualifier against El Salvador as he worked to get back up to speed after testing positive for Covid-19. He then played the full game against Canada before withdrawing after 62 minutes in San Pedro Sula.

The Stars and Stripes were unaffected by the loss of their skipper and went on to score three goals in the final 15 minutes to claim their maiden win of this qualifying campaign. It takes them up to third in the table, the final automatic qualification spot.