New York Giants fans held their collective breath when star running back Saquon Barkley went down with an ankle injury during a Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain that fortunately did not require surgery, and he was back by Week 7. However, Barkley said during an interview with pro golfer Brooks Koepka that the injury continued to bother him throughout the remainder of the 2019 season (via Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com):

“It was more nagging than anything,” Barkley said. “It was tough to deal with. Once we got to the offseason and I got some time to myself to work on it and be happy with it, it made me feel a lot better.”

Barkley rushed 18 times for 72 yards in his return against the Arizona Cardinals, though he could tell he was hampered by the ankle (via Rosenblatt):

Barkley, clearly, was not 100% when he returned for that Cardinals game and admitted that he had a scare very early in that game, which the Giants lost 27-21 at MetLife Stadium.

“In the first game I came back I ran a rush to the right side of the field and I kinda got rolled up on it again,” Barkley said. “Luckily it was wet, it was a rainy game, so I didn’t get stuck on anything but it was just nagging. It happens.”

Saquon still managed to rush for over 1,000 yards on 4.6 yards per carry, though he was not quite as explosive as he had been during his rookie campaign.

Barkley has had a full offseason to strengthen the ankle, and the Giants will hope he is at 100 percent as they hope to take a step forward in 2020 under new head coach Joe Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.