FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After spending more than a month on the sidelines, Andrew Farrell had a lot of pent up energy to release upon his return to full training this week.

Farrell is currently working his way back from a stress reaction in his left tibia, which he suffered toward the end of the New England Revolution’s first preseason trip to Bradenton, Fla. It was an injury which required plenty of patience – something Farrell admits isn’t in his nature – but that patience eventually paid dividends as the second-year defender was cleared for a full return to training on Tuesday.

“I’m happy that the doctors did such a great job at keeping me on the sidelines, even though I wanted to play and I felt like I could play. They were being smart with the injury,” Farrell said. “The coaching staff, as well, helped me be patient and it finally paid off with the first full week of training this week.”

Farrell said he was “bummed out” while watching his teammates train and play preseason matches for two weeks in Tucson, Ariz., but now he can’t keep the smile off his face as the Revs prepare for Saturday afternoon’s visit to the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park.

Whether Farrell will be available for the trip has yet to be determined. Although the injury is no longer a concern and he has no limitations in training, the 21-year-old is still building his fitness after an extended absence. Some of that fitness has returned this week, but Farrell admits there is still work to be done.

“I feel good,” he said. “Game fitness is a lot different than just running around and getting my fitness on the treadmill. But I feel fine. They’re monitoring that and if it’s good enough for Saturday, then hopefully I’ll make the travel team. If not, I’ll have one more week to work at it.”