The day was Aug. 26, and Joe Donnelly laid in a hospital bed, hours removed from emergency surgery.

Just a day earlier he was the starting tight end on the Syracuse men’s football team. One freak accident in practice and he was in severe pain. He wore a sling on his left shoulder, which held in place the separated shoulder that he suffered the previous day. Doctors told him maybe he’d be back after seven games.

Yesterday, six weeks after the operation, Donnelly returned to contact drills in practice. He will play Saturday against Virginia Tech and possibly start. For some time, though, Donnelly felt disheartened, wondering what would become of this season. But through sometimes-risky workouts and a steadfast determination, the senior is back on the playing field ahead of schedule.

‘I was down,’ Donnelly said. ‘There was a 48-hour period after the surgery when I thought my college career was over. I was close to packing it in, starting to try and deal with the fact that I may just be watching the team all season.’

That was so long ago. The injury occurred before the season started, with SU still trying to dispel its 4-8 record from last year. Suddenly, the Orangemen’s starting tight end sat on the sideline helpless.

He felt that way Sept. 6, too, when the Orangemen faced North Carolina. He felt so distraught over not playing, so troubled to even be in the city of Syracuse that his girlfriend drove him home to Rochester to listen to the game. He needed support. He needed a crutch.

‘It was the worst possible thing ever,’ said Donnelly, who had never missed a game because of injury prior to this year. ‘I just came out of surgery and I couldn’t be in North Carolina with my teammates. I really could not believe. Literally, I couldn’t believe they were there without me. It was the worst, especially hearing us struggle on third down and knowing the tight end has a big part on third downs.’

Sure, Syracuse won, 49-47. Of course the game energized Donnelly. But he was fighting and losing his battle with injury, and Donnelly doesn’t take defeat well.

Just one week after the surgery, he itched to return. Everyday tasks began taking a toll. He could barely drive his stick-shift car with his one healthy arm.

He wanted to keep on the 20 pounds of muscle he gained over the summer through daily 6 a.m. runs followed by two-hour weight-lifting sessions.

He started fiddling with the sling. He took his arm out whenever people left him alone so coaches and trainers wouldn’t yell at him. He just wanted to try moving it, he justified to himself, just to gain back his range of motion. After three weeks, the sling came off.

Still, watching practices from the sideline tore Donnelly apart. He struggled to deal with it.

He needed something to help him cope. Naturally, the weight room became his sanctuary. He could rehab, train and keep in shape.

For the first hour and 15 minutes of football practice, while his teammates practiced on the grass beyond Coyne Field, Donnelly lifted. Syracuse personnel opened the weight room at unusual hours for him so he could sneak in.

‘Mentally, (lifting) is the only thing you can do,’ Donnelly said. ‘All you want to do when you’re in that position is feel like you’re doing something productive.’

Donnelly wasn’t just ahead of schedule, he was flying through it. The soreness faded. The strength remained. The old, jovial Joe returned.

Once a pessimist, bracing for the worst, Donnelly became an optimist. While he once questioned whether he would ever play football again, he now questions if he’ll start Saturday. While he once asked if he would return this season, he now wonders how many snaps he feels comfortable playing – ‘I can go for probably 60 or 70 on Saturday,’ he said.

Donnelly, SU’s best pass-catching tight end, left a void in the offense. With his return Monday to practice, his first at full-speed since the preseason, he salvaged what could have been a wasted year.

‘It feels good to be back,’ Donnelly said. ‘There was a time when I didn’t think a return was possible. I was so sore at the time of the surgery. I couldn’t deal with that. Now, I feel sore, but it’s a good sore. It’s a sore that lets me know I’m getting better.’

Published on September 20, 2004 at 12:00 pm