Barker continues long battle back

The worst thing most rookies will go through in their first Canadian Football League season is getting taped to the goal posts, or maybe even paying for an expensive dinner out for the vets.
Unfortunately, Moose Jaw's Dylan Barker is not like most CFL rookies.
Barker, the first overall pick in the Canadian Football League draft this spring by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, saw his inaugural professional season come crashing to a halt with a broken fibula, dislocated ankle and stretched ligaments in Hamilton's second pre-season game. In punt coverage, a Toronto Argonaut was pushed onto him one way and his left leg didn't go that way.
"I'm just starting to walk on it right now," said Barker, a former Central Cyclone. "I can't even tell you how long, but when I first broke it, they said I'd be out for the year for sure. It still kind of looks like that right now, but it's coming along very good."
Barker, in town while the Ti-Cats are on their bye-week, saw some of the Cats' trainers and physiotherapy people just before making the trip back home.
"I'll be off the crutches right away, and . . . it's feeling a lot better than it felt the first few weeks," he said. With the exception of a metacarpal bone, Barker hadn't broken anything before in football, and he said this is the first time he's missed football with a serious injury.
Frustrating? You bet.
"I never thought I'd have to go through this, but I've been lucky my whole football career . . . now that I'm one of those guys on the sidelines just sitting and watching, it just kills me inside. All your buddies are putting in all that hard work, going to practice every day and you're just sitting there trying to get your leg better," Barker said.
Through his high school and CIS career, Barker is one of the most talented football players to come out of Moose Jaw. For a player who has been vital to every team he's been on, and he hasn't missed time yet for an injury. . . well, things can get a little bit difficult
"It's really hard when I go home and my roommate's watching film and everything, and doing those things don't help me at all because I'm not playing the game right now," he said. "Just to watch them practice every day just kills me inside too. Sometimes, you can't handle it. You just have to do something else."
Barker is working the other leg as much as he can - and is starting to do some things with the injured leg - but he's still a few weeks away from getting back to full-on training.

For more, pick up Friday's Times-Herald.