FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Darrius Barnes can finally walk again. And he’s pretty thrilled about it.
After spending six weeks on crutches and another four saddled by a massive brace, Barnes just this week was cleared to begin moving unencumbered. It’s all part of the recovery process as he works his way back from surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
“I’ve never had an injury of this magnitude before, so it was definitely eye-opening to be restricted for that period of time,” said Barnes, who said bone chips in his foot and a severe ankle sprain were his worst injuries prior to this knee surgery. “It’s good to kind of get back into a little bit more of a normal routine.”
Barnes is admittedly still quite a ways off from a truly normal routine, but the veteran defender’s workouts have been steadily progressing in recent weeks. He’s continued upper body workouts throughout recovery, but has also recently added weight to his knee exercises as he continues to build strength.
That puts Barnes slightly ahead of schedule, meaning that he could progress to running on the treadmill – a major step in recovery from knee surgery – by the end of July.
“Before the surgery they told me I’d be running in about four months,” Barnes said. “They say I’m a little ahead of schedule so hopefully I’ll be running at the three or three-and-a-half month mark. We’re at two-and-a-half months now, so hopefully in the next month I’ll be able to start running on the treadmill.”
While Barnes appears to have mastered the physical part of his recovery, it’s been the mental portion which has arguably been more taxing. And much of it has to do with some incredibly terrible timing.
For years Barnes has been the Revolution’s reliable utility man. Able to play anywhere across the backline, he’s developed an uncanny ability to perform at any position whenever he’s called upon. There’s little question he’s one of the most reliable players on New England’s roster.
Through late March into early April, however, Barnes found a consistent place amongst the Revolution’s starters, making four straight 90-minute appearances as the Revs registered three shutouts.
But then it all came crashing down during the 0-0 draw with Columbus Crew SC on April 11.
“I’ve been struggling with patellar tendonosis for the past couple years now,” said Barnes, adding that his teammates often joke about ‘D’s knees’. “I’ve been dealing with pain in the knees and just kind of battling through it because it wasn’t something I wanted to get surgery on. I just kind of received treatment and maintained it the best I could.
“So I had some tendonosis and then in the Columbus game I went on a run. I just remember taking a step and jamming it – something just felt a little funny and it kind of ached up on me. It swelled up after the game so we got an MRI. They said that I’d torn the tendon off the patellar about 60 percent.”
At that point Barnes had two options – undergo surgery which would require a six-month recovery, or continue to play through the pain and risk completely rupturing the tendon, potentially ending his career.
It was a simple choice, in the end, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a struggle for Barnes to watch from the stands as his teammates muddle through a difficult run of results.
“It’s just tough when you want to be out there with your teammates on the field,” said Barnes. “Especially at a time like now where the depth on the backline is thin and we need guys.
“It kind of messed with me mentally a little bit, but I like to think I have a strong mental toughness and can get through it. It was a blow to me personally just because I felt like at the time of the injury I was playing pretty well. The team was starting to play well and I’d kind of found my spot in the lineup.
“From that standpoint it was tough because as a competitor and a professional, you want to play game in and game out. I was starting to get that opportunity again. So that was a blow.”
It was a blow to the Revolution, as well, to lose an on-field leader who can play anywhere across the backline. But they’ll simply have to look forward to his return, which is still some months away.
In the meantime, Barnes is doing everything he can to progress. He’s been riding a stationary bike for the past couple weeks, and just this past weekend he was cleared to begin pool workouts.
“It seems like things are moving in the right direction,” Barnes said. “Hopefully all things go well and there will be no setbacks.”
