Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:

Dylan Barker was on top of the world April 30 when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats selected the 21-year-old Moose Jaw native first overall in the Canadian College Draft.

But in less than two months, Barker’s world has plummeted to a depth of despair he has never known.

Just days from celebrating making the Tiger-Cats and playing in his first regular season Canadian Football League game, Barker was badly injured in the club’s final preseason contest Thursday night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

During a routine special teams play in the first quarter, an Argonaut player was blocked into Barker and rolled up on the Cats’ free safety’s leg.

Somehow, Barker got up and walked off the field. Which is quite miraculous, given the rookie had just fractured his left leg. And on top of that, Hamilton head coach Charlie Taaffe said Barker dislocated his left ankle on the same play.

Barker had surgery on his leg Saturday and remains in hospital. While the Cats will certainly place the University of Saskatchewan-product on the nine-game injury list — meaning he wouldn’t be able to return until mid-September at the earliest — Taaffe believes Barker will be gone far longer.

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