Despite injury Doneil Henry doing his bit off the pitch to help Canada at World Cup

Doneil Henry's World Cup experience has been far different than the one he originally hoped for. But the veteran defender is still doing whatever he can for Canada.

Sidelined by a calf injury on the eve of the tournament, Henry is still with the Canadian team but in a non-playing role. He has been doing everything from "a little bit of tactical work on the computers" to taking the emotional pulse of his teammates.

"Just literally being a big brother," he said in an interview. "Just making sure everybody's mood is right, making sure the energy within the team [is right] and obviously just pointing [out] defensive stuff that I think we can either work on or rectify, fix for the next game.

"Besides that, I'm just helping out wherever I'm needed. If that means I'm helping with equipment or doing stuff on the technical side. Whatever's needed, I'll do it."

"I felt good all week, training well," Henry recalled.

But he felt a "sharp pain" in his calf during the pre-game warm-up.

"I tried to stretch it and continue going but it just got worse and worse," he said.

WATCH | Doneil Henry discusses the brotherhood  of the Canadian men's national team:

The initial diagnosis was recovery would take up to 14 days, with Canada's opening game at the tournament Nov. 23 — 12 days later.

Henry opted to take his name out of World Cup contention, saying it was just the right thing to do.

"The way I always envision myself as a player is I don't look for sympathy. I don't make excuses. I always want to do it the right way," Henry explained. "As much as I've been part of this team for the last four years and believe in it, buying into a system and a way of playing and the principle that we've laid a foundation for, I knew that there were players