CARSON, Calif. – The pain from Chad Barrett’s dislocated right foot has proven to be fairly manageable, but the disappointment from missing Sunday’s MLS Cup final could be considerably more difficult for the LA Galaxy striker.
The Galaxy’s second-leading scorer behind Landon Donovan this season won’t play in Sunday’s final against the Houston Dynamo (6 p.m., ESPN, Galavision, ESPN3.com, live audio and webchat on lagalaxy.com/gamedaylive) after dislocating his foot during training last week.
READ: Forward Chad Barrett to miss MLS Cup
“To see your foot like that. It wasn’t really the pain so much, just the realization I knew I was going to be out,” Barrett said while he talked about the injury for the first time Thursday. “This is all I’ve been playing for, the biggest stage I’ve ever been on.”
Barrett, who was acquired from Toronto FC for future considerations in January, suffered the injury when his foot got caught on the turf during a non-contact play in training. Tests later revealed no ligament or bone damage.
“When it first happened, I thought it was broken,” Barrett said. “The way I fell on it, it sounded like getting your back popped. It made it sound like four or five cracks; you could hear it from 15 yards away.
“I heard the cracks, but I also thought I just sprained my ankle. I went to put down my toe kind of gingerly and I looked down and my foot was turned over.
“It was pretty gruesome.”
Barrett, who said he has been told by doctors he could be off crutches in 10 days and on his feet in a month, admitted he “shed a few tears” when he was taken away in an ambulance. A remark from one of the firemen/paramedics on the scene didn’t help much, either.
“One of them said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s broken. You’re never going to play again,’ ” Barrett said. “I was like, ‘Who brought this guy?’ ”
Barrett played in 27 regular season games this year, including 20 starts, and had seven goals and five assists. He was second behind Donovan’s 12 goals and three assists. The Galaxy also was 8-0-0 when Barrett scored and 4-1-0 when he had an assist.
Barrett also expressed his sympathy for Houston’s Brad Davis, who will miss the final because of a quadricep injury – “I feel very bad for him,” Barrett said – and hopes to be on the sideline come Sunday night. But with decidedly mixed emotions.
“It could be worse, really,” he said. “As it gets more and more closer to the game I’m starting to feel a little bit more sad about the whole thing,” he said, “but it’s still an exciting time. It’s my first MLS Cup experience, all the stuff that goes on before. It’s great to be a part of and great to be part of this team.
READ: Galaxy feel for teammate Barrett after freak injury
“Just because I’m out doesn’t change anything. We’ve been a team all year, and we’ve had injuries all year. Someone’s going to step in and do a great job like they have all year.
“I’d like to be a part of the final game with the guys. As a teammate all I can do now is put on my best face and make sure the guys know I’m behind them. I had a good year and I would have loved to finish it in the final. It wasn’t meant to be.”
