Cammy Devlin thumped his fist into the Tynecastle Park turf. Moments earlier, Killian Phillips had fallen awkwardly onto the Heart of Midlothian midfielder's ankle.
Immediately, the Australian was in discomfort, signalling to the bench that something was wrong. His anguish could be seen as he pushed his face into the pitch before rolling over and lying there with his arm across his eyes.
Devlin would limp off to be replaced by Jordi Altena at the end of the 2-0 win over St Mirren last week.
The initial feeling within Hearts wasn't positive regarding the potential injury. A subsequent scan discovered the issue with his ankle, putting a six-to-eight-week timeline on his recovery. It was perhaps the best the club could have hoped for.
But it means they will be without a player who has been one of the most influential, most impactful, during a tough run of fixtures. Even after Hearts were knocked out of the Scottish Cup over the weekend in the first fixture without the 27-year-old.
It is understood that the player is feeling good after the initial disappointment of his injury. He is one of the fittest players in the squad and such is his character, he'll be looking to return on the early side of his injury timeline. There is even a hope he can knock a week off of that timeline.
In the meantime, the weekend's clash with Celtic begins a run of fixtures until the start of March that will see Hearts, in addition to last season's champions, face Hibs, Falkirk and Aberdeen at Tynecastle Park and Dundee United, Rangers and St Mirren on the road.
It is fair to say it is a stretch of fixtures that will shape the season, if not define it.
How big a miss?
Devlin's absence will be felt on many levels.
The midfielder embodies this Hearts team and under Derek McInnes, his game has risen to another level. He is the heartbeat of the side and so often sets the tone in the way they approach games: that competitive edge that has taken Hearts to the top of the Premiership.
If there has been one moment that encapsulated it, it was the look on Celtic captain Callum McGregor's face when Hearts beat last season's Scottish champions at Tynecastle Park earlier in the campaign. So often unfazed and unflustered, McGregor was clearly agitated by Devlin. And Devlin? He thrived in the situation.
He is the biggest pest to opposition teams in the league. The type of player opposition teams and fans love to hate, but would adore if on their side.
Take the view of former Celtic and Hibs captain Scott Brown. He is the embodiment of the above description.
"I'm really enjoying Devlin at this moment in time. He's got this little bit of arrogance. He plays now with confidence; he plays with his chest out. He looks like a top, top-quality player," he said.
"He reminds me of Callum McGregor when he was younger. He gets on the ball and drives the team forward. Everyone at Hearts looks to him. Looks to him to go and get on the ball, to go and make the tackle, to go and set the tone early doors in the game. And that's what he is doing at the moment."
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There is an arrogance, an enjoyment, an enthusiasm and a confidence to his game.
He is a clear leader in the team. A driver of demands. A setter of standards. On the training pitch, he is highly competitive. During games, you can see him cajoling, encouraging and, when necessary, reminding, if not reprimanding, teammates if they drop their standards or concentration.
In the win over Rangers at Tynecastle, he barked at Oisin McEntee after the Irishman lost Emmanuel Fernandez for a corner, only for it to be ruled out, gesturing for him to be stronger.
McInnes has relished working with Devlin on a daily basis. And while nothing has surprised him about the midfielder, he has been hugely impressed with the standards that he sets and upholds.
"I think you get a feeling for what players are like when you play against them. I always had a feeling that I could be a good manager for him and he could be a good player for me," he told Hearts Standard.
"I always thought that he was somebody that I would be drawn to and I've said that to Cammy. I think that seeing a player day in and day out, having that consistency of how he works, consistency of how he performs day to day, you've got to put those demands and he's very big on that. He's one of the main ones who put demands on the rest of the squad.
"So we'll not only just miss that influence on a match day, but I do think we'll miss it day to day because he's just an infectious team-mate and he's somebody that I love working with. And he very rarely misses a day's training."
On that last point, earlier this season, he was given extra days off following international duty. While many players would have their feet up at home or maybe out on the golf course, Devlin was desperate to return to training.
All of that is before you even get to those on-field attributes. He is a midfield tour de force.
He looks like he has been part of a genetics programme. But nothing to do with cloning or creating some sort of superhuman. Rather, a special programme designed to build players for the midfield battles of the Scottish Premiership.
He is the best pure defensive midfielder in the country and has been for a few seasons. This season, he has not only been the best defensive midfielder in the country, but also the best midfielder in the country and the best player in the country.
"If there was a player of the year poll tomorrow, it would probably be five or six different candidates across the board and Cammy would be high on that list," McInnes said.
Devlin is aggressive, determined and full of energy. He wins tackles, makes interceptions and puts opposition players under pressure. But it is the way he does it and the frequency with which he does it that is key.
When it comes to tackles and interceptions, his 7.09 per 90 minutes is nearly double the next highest teammate (Beni Baningime on 3.61 per 90).
Something that isn't discussed enough is his ability to read a game of football. He can put up incredible numbers regarding his defensive metrics because he is so often in the right place at the right time.
He combines that reading of the game with a decisiveness which is second to none. When he decides to commit, he will commit. There is no hesitation, no second-guessing. And opposition players absolutely despise it. His willingness and determination to put players under pressure result in Hearts winning the ball back. A lot.
There are a couple of metrics that highlight this: defensive regains (the times a player’s team won the ball back within five seconds of the player making a defensive action against an opponent) and counterpressure regains (times a team won the ball back within five seconds of a player counterpressuring an opponent).
Who is first for both metrics out of the 231 players to have played more than 300 minutes in the Scottish Premiership?
Cammy Devlin.
When you consider how important winning the ball back quickly is for Hearts and the team's reaction to losing the ball, Devlin is central to that.
How do you replace him?
"To get like-for-like is difficult, but we're just short in that area at the minute. Calem Nieuwenhof's injury is not ideal, Stephen Kingsley's not ideal because obviously you could then have a natural left-back that could maybe allow Harry Milne to play in there," McInnes told Hearts Standard.
"Ageu, still got to make sure that, because he's in a tough situation, we don't overexpose him too readily along with Oisin [McEntee]. Oisin was always planned for Dundee United, so it would be a big ask and maybe a bit more risk for these two to be in contention for Celtic. But obviously, we'll just see where we sit with that.
"It's going to be a blow for us, but it's something we need to deal with and we need to find the best solution we can."
McInnes added: "It just seems a bit unfair on him and us at the minute that we're having to deal with that, and it was so late in the game against St Mirren.
"We've all been involved in football, we've got to deal with losing key players and it's going to be other people's opportunity now to try and step up and have the same influence as both Cammy and Lawrence [Shankland] have had."
In terms of solutions, bringing Macaulay Tait back from Livingston has been floated by some fans. The central midfielder has been a regular on loan at Livi, playing in the drawover St Mirren on Tuesday night. It is understood that his recall date has passed and he is unlikely to be an option as things stand.
Hearts have made a bid for Forest Green Rovers midfielder Laurent Mendy. The 28-year-old certainly ticks a lot of boxes in terms of interceptions, defensive actions and ball recoveries and is a slightly different profile in terms of physical presence.
As McInnes noted, however, a like-for-like replacement is very difficult, even more so with Baningime also missing for the next two games through suspension.
Take a look at the radar below. Devlin in red largely engulfs the league average in blue for a variety of defensive metrics.
In possession, he is having more impact in moving the team forward. He is passing the ball forward more often and the average length of his passes has increased, as has the number of deep progressions per 90 minutes. Those are passes or dribbles into the final third.
Looking at data from Mendy at Forest Green Rovers, he has the quality of playing forward and a desire to progress the game.
In-house, when everyone is back fit, McInnes will have plenty of options.
Fans are eager to see record-signing Ageu get up to speed. The Brazilian can play as a No.6, No.8 or No.10. However, he is the type of profile that would play alongside a Devlin or Baningime.
Magnusson is a versatile option and gets about the pitch brilliantly. He's been most effective in a more advanced midfield role, like in the first half against Falkirk and the win at Celtic. Again, he is someone who could have the capacity to be that presence at the base of the midfield, but doesn't have the experience that Devlin has.
McEntee can certainly be an effective battling option. Hearts fans have maybe not seen the best of him since he has not had a sustained run in the team in the centre of the pitch. He is someone who could play alongside Baningime and be given the freedom to go and set the tone by pressing the opposition around the pitch.
A name that has been mentioned often. Beni Baningime. No midfielder will have a bigger role than the 27-year-old when he returns from suspension. He will be so vital in the midfield, likely required to take on even more responsibility as the heart of the midfield. Every fan is aware of how he can make Hearts a better team.
Devlin's injury absence has only been heightened because of Baningime's suspension.
The Australian will be a massive miss considering his influence this season. That influence will be particularly felt in the next two fixtures.
In the meantime, Devlin will be doing everything he can to be back as soon as he can.
