CARSON, Calif. -- The limp is gone, not to mention the crutches and walking boot, for the LA Galaxy's Chad Barrett. He's able to do some running and is hoping he can start planting and cutting in a couple of weeks.
It's quite a turnabout in fortunes for the eight-year MLS veteran, who dislocated his right foot during training for last November's MLS Cup and could only sit and watch as the Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 for its third championship.
READ: LA Galaxy Forward Chad Barrett ruled out for MLS Cup
He said he still considers himself fortunate, even though it perhaps was the most disappointing time of his professional career.
"I got really lucky with my injury," he said Monday as the defending MLS champions opened preseason training camp. Barrett didn't take part in various fitness drills with his teammates, but he did do some light running on the side. "I really couldn't imagine a worse time for it to happen, but I really lucked out. There were no bad ligament tears, no fractures. It was only a two-month injury."
Barrett said doctors treated it as a severely sprained ankle, although initially it was feared his foot was broken. He was on crutches for 10 days, followed by a walking boot for three weeks. And as soon as he could wear a shoe he was walking on it and putting weight on it, albeit gingerly.
READ: Barrett Holding Up Well
He also said he started to run without pain about three weeks ago.
"I want to make sure it's nice and strong when I come back," he said. "It's a very long season."
The 26-year-old, who played in 27 games last season (including 20 starts) and had seven goals and five assists -- the Galaxy, by the way, were 8-0-0 when he scored and 4-1-0 when he had an assist -- said he can hear occasional cracking from the loosening of adhesions in his foot and admitted he has a mental barrier he must clear before he can go all-out in training.
The championship, he pointed out, helped ease that pain.
"You don't want to come back and reinjure something," he said. "We still won the MLS Cup. That was the only thing I cared about. Whether they did it with me or without me, I know I was a big part of it last year and I was OK with that."
Barrett was wearing a walking boot when he ran out on the field after the MLS Cup triumph and was among the first to congratulate winning goalkeeper Josh Saunders. He said he still has a picture of the injury.
"Everybody wants to see it," he said with a grin. "It's just kind of a painful reminder of what can happen. It's a part of sports, something very freak for me to see at the time. To never break anything and see something out of place, just like that you're sure it's broken. I got very lucky with the dislocation."
