In the third test he was injured again while fielding. Darling batted down the order and scored a fighting 59. He opened in the second innings and scored only 4. According to a contemporary report, "In a team of complex characters, Darling is perhaps the most complex. He is a tremendously talented batsman dragged back by acute nervousness. Sometimes he gets so worked up thinking about batting that he has to run off the field and be physically ill in the dressing room. Darling's problem has always been with him. It is the main reason why he has been made into an opener, when his technique and attacking flair make him more suited to a position down the order." Darling made 27 and 3 against West Zone and was dismissed cheaply twice in the fourth test, 19 and 7. He was dropped down the order for the fifth and sixth tests. In the fifth he made 39 and 7; in the 6th it was 16 and 0. In the final Test, Darling was hit on the head attempting a hook shot from a Kapil Dev bouncer, and was carried off the field and forced to retire hurt with no score to his name. His head split open, Darling was taken to hospital, where, according to Bob Merriman, the doctors refused to stitch him up until he signed an autograph for them. (Darling later said this was untrue.) Darling began the 1979–80 season superbly with 88 against the West Indies for South Australia. "I can see that if I want to get back in the Test side I will have to concentrate on opening because there seems to be plenty of middle-order batsmen", he said. However, when picked to play against the West Indies for a Tasmanian Invitational XI he made 1; then when he asked to bat down the order he was dismissed for 15. Against NSW he made 42 and 10 then impressed against England with 45 and 75 not out and 50 against WA. Darling was unable to force his way back into the test team but was selected to play for Australia in the one day side. He made 20. He followed this with 134 against Queensland in a Sheffield Shield game, his fifth first class century. He was injured while fielding later in the season. Darling began the next summer well with 81 against Tasmania. He suffered more injury problems hurting his thigh in a game against Western Australia. Highlights of the summer included 61 against India, 65 against Victoria and 50, plus 51 in a McDonald's Cup semi final. Darling had an excellent season in 1981–82.