Dykes Regains Vision; Man Is Arrested

The eye injury wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes suffered in a scuffle outside a nightclub is healing well, and his doctor said he should be able to play when the New England Patriots meet the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, Oct. 18.

Dykes wore sunglasses as he left Rhode Island Hospital Thursday, 36 hours after he and Patriot receiver Irving Fryar were injured in a brawl. Dykes would not comment, but his attorney, Peter DiBiase, said a witness told police that Dykes was being needled about how poorly the Patriots were doing.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday night, police arrested a nightclub bouncer, William Earley, 35, at his home in Portsmouth and charged him with assaulting Dykes. Police said Earley called to give himself up.

Ophthalmologist Robert Bahr, who treated Dykes, said: “He is dramatically better than he was yesterday. He’s feeling better and he’s seeing better.”

Dykes’ eye was swollen and he had some blurred vision Wednesday but was seeing normally Thursday, Bahr said.

“He’s going to probably have to take it easy for a while,” Bahr said, explaining it normally takes five or six days to recover from a blunt eye injury. He said it looked as if Dykes took a blow directly to the eye.

He said Dykes, 24, should be able to attend practice by Monday.