Lorenzo Insigne and other Toronto FC players report for pre-season medicals

Toronto FC forward Lorenzo Insigne (24) celebrates after Toronto FC defeated Forge FC 1-0, during Canadian Championship soccer action in Toronto on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

TORONTO — Toronto FC players reported for pre-season medicals Saturday ahead of training camp stints in Spain and Florida.

The group included Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, who signalled his return with a social media post showing a photo of the Toronto night skyline with the world “Back” accompanied by a Canadian flag.

There had been a question mark over the future of the 33-year-old Insigne, who struggled through an injury-disrupted 2024 season that saw him register a modest four goals and seven assists in 23 regular-season appearances.

The forward ranked second in Major League Soccer last season with a salary of US$15.4 million and is under contract with Toronto through June 2026, with a club option for the rest of the 2026 campaign.

The team will be under new management this season with the departure of John Herdman in late November.

New coach Robin Fraser, who was an assistant to Greg Vanney with TFC from 2015 to 2019 before leaving to take over the Colorado Rapids, is set to be formally introduced on Wednesday.

The team is scheduled to leave for Spain on Friday to train at the Marbella Football Center through Feb. 3. The squad will then return to Toronto before heading south to Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 10 to continue camp through Feb. 21.

The team will leave Florida and head to Washington, D.C., for the Feb. 22 season opener at D.C. United.

Toronto, which missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season with a 11-19-4 record in 2024, plays at Orlando on March 1 and FC Cincinnati on March 8 before hosting the Chicago Fire on March 15.

There have been more subtractions than additions during the off-season.

Toronto said goodbye to leading scorer Prince Owusu as well as goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh, defenders Aimé Mabika, Shane O’Neill and Luke Singh, and midfielder Brandon Servania. Midfielder Cassius Mailula is on loan with Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club through July with a Wydad option to make the move permanent.

Aside from the MLS SuperDraft, the lone off-season addition has been Brazilian winger Thiago Andrade, acquired from New York City FC via San Diego FC in a draft day deal. The 24-year-old spent the last two seasons out on loan, first in Brazil with Athletico Paranaense and last season in China with Shenzhen Peng City FC.

There have been reports that Toronto may be selling Andrade to a team in Asia.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press