Darius Leonard didn't know he needed surgery.

That was, until he reported for offseason workouts. What followed was a lot of time in shorts and a baseball cap, watching his Colts teammates practice without him.

Leonard won’t practice at the team’s mandatory minicamp this week, either, although he has started to run on a separate field with one of the team's trainers.

Its been a tough stretch for the All-Pro, second-year linebacker. But he also knows it was necessary.

“I feel much better now than I did going into the surgery,” Leonard said.

Leonard won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors last season despite a lingering issue with the ankle that plagued him throughout the season. He missed just one game due to the injury — a Thursday night matchup against the Patriots — but it was a constant irritant.

“I thought, with the rest, that it would heal by itself, but coming back, running on it, it didn’t feel good,” Leonard said. “I wasn’t 100 percent. I’m just glad we caught it when we did.”

The ankle didn’t slow him much. Leonard led the NFL with 163 tackles, added seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions.

Leonard is currently in the middle of a six-week recovery window, but is on schedule to return in time for training camp. He won’t have any lingering issues from the surgery. In fact, he should actually be better because he will no longer need to fight through pain.

After what he accomplished last season, that's a scary thought.