FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – New England Patriots running back Mike Cloud woke up at 5 a.m. Monday, unable to sleep. He tried to kill some time before he left for practice, but even then he arrived to find the locker room empty.

“I was the first guy here,” he said on his first day back to the NFL after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. “Every day was like a countdown for me, marking it off the calendar: 17 days, 15 days. … I was very anxious, like a little kid.”

Cloud, who starred at Boston College before the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the second round in 1999, was suspended in March after he reportedly tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. Cloud has said he didn’t know the substance was in an over-the-counter protein supplement.

The Patriots signed him anyway, knowing they would have to wait until the fifth week to have him back. But that timetable appeared in danger when Cloud had surgery in July to repair a detached right calf muscle; he missed the last month of training camp before serving his suspension for the first month of the season.

Although Cloud was told at first the injury could keep him out for a year, he is healthy now – and eligible.

“It’s good to have a big part of that behind me,” he said. “I’ve been fired up for quite a while now. Physically and mentally, I think I’m ready to go.”

Coach Bill Belichick said Monday that the Patriots (2-2) have received an exemption that will allow Cloud to practice with the team this week while it decides whether to add him to the 53-man roster. If they want to activate him for Sunday’s game against Tennessee, or keep him around beyond that, they will have to cut someone.

“He really didn’t have a chance to show a whole lot of what he could do even in the brief time that he was here,” Belichick said. “What we can go on is what we saw when he was at Kansas City. There were certainly a lot of things that we like there, which is why we signed him in the first place. Based on where he is at now, or where he is at this year, I wouldn’t even begin to hazard a guess.”

Cloud also returned kicks in Kansas City, where he was a backup running back for four years, so that could be his best chance to make an impact. But New England could also use help in its running game.

Antoine Smith and Kevin Faulk have been sharing the load, running for just 319 yards on 89 carries in four games, combined. On Sunday, Faulk ran 10 times for 12 yards before injuring his leg and leaving the game in the third quarter. Smith ran 14 times for 56 yards on the day and also caught a pass for 16 yards, making it his most productive game of the year.

The Patriots have other problems – the offensive line has been repeatedly shuffled to compensate for injuries, and the defense has been devastated by injuries. Quarterback Tom Brady has been lackluster, throwing seven interceptions in the two losses.

“It’s been very frustrating sitting at home, watching on the tube,” Cloud said. “Just watching the guys, with their ups and downs, all the emotions.”

Even when the team lost the opener 31-0?

“I still wish I was there,” he said.

AP-ES-09-29-03 1648EDT