It was an innocent-enough play, coming in the very first Valour FC training session in mid-February.

Little did midfielder Raphael Ohin know that moment would ultimately represent the end of his training camp with what the club confirmed today was an ACL tear in his left knee.

“It was just what I would call a knock on the knee,” Ohin explained today in a chat with valourfootball.club. “Willy (Akio) came in for a tackle and I remember going down. Willy was also feeling some pain. I went down, but something didn’t feel right.

“I’ve never had an injury like this before. Everyone was asking me, ‘Did you feel a knock?’ Did you feel this? Did you feel that?’ All I can remember is getting hit.

“After I saw the doctor and heard it was an ACL tear, I couldn’t believe it. It honestly didn’t sink in at first. He was trying to comfort me and tell me they were going to take care of me, but in the back of my head I couldn’t believe it was happening, especially after training so hard in the offseason.

“I was super excited for this year,” Ohn added. “And then you hear ‘ACL’ and your first reaction is ‘No chance.’ It took me awhile to accept it for what it is.”

The club did not indicate how long Ohin might be lost, saying only it would be for an ‘extended period.’

“It’s unfortunate for him,” said Valour FC GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos. “It was in the first training session. You come in full of expectations and every player wants to see what they can do with a new group of guys around him.

“He looks like he’s in a better space now and with the support of everyone in the club he’ll come out of it stronger. Now he just needs to focus on his rehab and make sure he’s doing all the little things right.”

The loss of Ohin impacts Valour dramatically. A physical and consistent force in the middle of the park, Ohin is also the franchise’s all-time leader in matches played with 57, including four Canadian Championship appearances.

Ohin vows now to put everything he has into his recovery, knowing there will be some dark days ahead in that rehabilitation. He does have many around him for support, including Andrew Jean-Baptiste, who is working to return from his own ACL injury as well as Brett Levis, who suffered a similar setback during his days with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“Drew, Brett — the guys that have had ACLs before – have been encouraging me,” Ohin said. “I’ve already asked them a bunch of questions and they’ve helped me out. Drew is such a good leader. He told me, ‘Raph, look at this way: this season is just about to start. You’re going to be with us, training with us and you’ll still be part of the team.’

“That’s the goal now: I’ll do whatever the doctors and trainers want me to do to get better. I know it’s going to be tough and it’s going to take some mental strength, but I’ll push through.”

‘V’ NOTES:

-F William Akio was back training with Valour on Thursday after returning from a stint with the South Sudanese national team. South Sudan knocked off Djibouti 4-2 and 1-nil in Africa Cup Nations qualification.

-MF Diego Gutiérrez is not yet back with the club training, but has been attending sessions. He was injured just before the team departed for Victoria earlier this month.