FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — On a day he wanted and needed to have, Saquon Barkley was not all smiles when it came to one aspect of his long-awaited return to the field.

It was not a whole lot — eight snaps during Thursday’s joint practice with the Patriots — and it went just fine for the star running back, who is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. He looked as close to himself as anyone could reasonably expect, but he directed his disgust at the red jersey he was assigned to wear.

“I hate it,’’ Barkley said. “I hate it.’’

Red is for quarterbacks — it means no contact, as in “Do Not Touch” — and is also is used, rarely, for players in practice returning from injury.

Seeing No. 26 in red was an odd sight, but not a wholly unwelcome one for Barkley.

“You have to do what you have to do,’’ he said. “I said in the locker room, I don’t care if it’s pink, orange, yellow, whatever color it is, as long as I’m able get out there and take some reps with my team, that’s all that matters.’’

Yes, getting out there is all that matters.

Barkley started training camp on the physically unable to perform list, came off PUP on Aug. 9 and ever since has been brought along slowly — perhaps too slowly for his liking. He participated in individual drills, but was not out there at all last week whenever there were Browns defenders on the field last week in Berea, Ohio.

Barkley was not with the team Wednesday, as he was back home attending to a personal situation, and the plan for him on Thursday was to get him in 7-on-7 periods for 10-12 reps, according to head coach Joe Judge.

As it turned out, Barkley was more involved than that — not in total number of snaps, but in actually getting into two of the more valuable 11-on-11 periods. He got four snaps in 7-on-7 and four snaps in 11-on-11 team periods.

“It was just fun to be able to play football again,’’ Barkley said. “I feel like a little kid.’’

The four snaps in the 7-on-7 drill came one after another. On his second snap, Barkley caught a swing pass from Daniel Jones on the left sideline, with no Patriots defender in the vicinity, and nearly did not take the ball into the end zone.

“I forgot we were in the low red zone,’’ Barkley said. “It’s those little things that are just going to come to me naturally as I take more reps.’’

Barkley got two snaps in an 11-on-11 period later in the day, but did not get the ball. The next period, an 11-on-11, two-minute drill, was the highlight of his return. On first down, he caught the ball over the middle, planted his foot and pivoted around linebacker Dont’a Hightower, looking like, well, himself.

“There’s not some kind of checkmark he’s got to fill, some kind of box, it’s just acclimating him in at this point with team drills and more competition,’’ Judge said. “The biggest thing coming off of an injury like this is it’s the reactionary speed. It’s the quick reaction on movement, on finding the space, on trying to avoid somebody.’’

On the next play, Jones found and hit Barkley over the middle. Barkley leaped with Kyle Van Noy — there was a bit of physical contact — and came down with the ball before taking off. But the whistle blew the play dead.

“I honestly think the second one I would have gotten a lot more than we got credit for,’’ Barkley said, his competitive juices kicking in.

That Van Noy jostled Barkley a bit is exactly what was needed. Judge said he will not put Barkley on the field in a game until he shows he can take a hit. Barkley will not play in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Patriots, meaning the Giants will have to rough Barkley up a bit in order to ensure he is ready for the Sept. 12 season opener.

“We’re at the point in the process where I am allowed to take team reps and stuff is going to happen naturally, especially throughout the couple more weeks coming up,” Barkley said. “Those things are going to come naturally and I just have to continue to be patient and when I have the opportunities take advantage of them.’’

Most encouraging for Barkley was that on his final play, after he came down with the ball, he felt no hesitation.

“That’s the first time I wasn’t thinking about it, so I would say that’s a good thing,’’ Barkley said. “When I caught the ball I wasn’t thinking about my knee or anything.’’