Houston Dynamo forward Giles Barnes says his move to Houston has let him rediscover himself after a rash of career-threatening injuries nearly sidelined him for good.
After aggravating an ankle injury in 2007, the former Derby County man dislocated and ruptured knee ligaments in 2008. Following an arduous rehabilitation, he partially ruptured his Achilles' tendon, and later completely ruptured it, in 2009.
The Jamaica international spent time at West Brom and Doncaster over the 2010 and 2011 seasons before making an unexpected move to MLS in the summer of 2012.
"Coming over to Houston I feel I've rediscovered the person I was. To look back and feel that way and see how it turned out is a real blessing and it could have turned out a completely different way," Barnes told the Telegraph on Monday.
"I had spoken to a club in Italy, one in Greece and a couple in England and they were asking me about my injuries and were offering me six-month deals or pay-as-you-play offers," Barnes recounted.
"But I randomly got a call out of the blue on my phone from an agent asking, 'How do you feel about coming to America, MLS are interested?'
"I was thinking, 'This is so random, how can this be true? How did you get my number? The MLS season is nearly finished, it makes no sense...'
"So I said call me back when you get more information and you should call my dad to discuss it -- and it turned out to be real."
For Barnes, the move has been a godsend and one he hasn't regretted.
"Coming to Houston and playing in the position that I feel comfortable in and feeling loved and getting the excitement of coming to training every day and being pain free has been a blessing. I've been here for three years and it was the best decision for me."
It hasn't been a perfect transition for Barnes, however, as the high temperatures in Houston have proven a more difficult obstacle to hurdle.
"There have been days of 105F temperatures and 80-90 percent humidity and you're out there training it feels like your skin is melting! But you get to this time of year it's so nice -- it's like California weather but there's some days it feels like you're jumping out of a volcano."
Barnes traveled to Colorado in 2008 to have his knee repaired by renowned specialist Dr. Richard Steadman, which made his return trip as a Dynamo player a special moment in his career.
"There was a sense of joy when I went to Colorado to play," he said.
"The last time I was there was to have my knee looked at as Dr. Steadman was the best person in the world to do so. And to be back running around and doing things that people didn't expect I would do again was a really fulfilling. It was a great moment."