XOLOS NOTEBOOK: JOE CORONA BACK AT TRAINING GROUNDS

TIJUANA – Joe Corona juggled a ball with his feet. Right, left, right, left. Left, left. Right, right. That’s the order in which he balanced the soccer ball during a recent training session at Estadio Caliente. The Xoloitzcuintles midfielder is back on the field working on rehabbing a foot injury suffered in October.

The United States national team player and San Diego native is slowly reaching his goal to be back on the field for Club Tijuana. He said his progress is on schedule as he works with team Kinesiologist Raul Lopez.

“It’s coming along well,” Corona said of his recovery. “I am able to plant and put some pressure on it now. I’ll be good to go when I’m ready.”

Corona is ready to get back on the field but the healing process for a broken fifth metatarsal is not an easy one. The 24-year-old had to be carted off the field Oct. 17 during the 2014 Apertura Week 13 match against Club Queretaro in the 73rd minute of play. He underwent surgery and has been recovering since.

He continues with his rehab. He has begun to run with the ball at his feet during recent practices.

Corona ran around the field some more Saturday morning and worked on soft touches with teammate Alejandro Guido. Corona also completed some light agility drills and stretching during the training session.

GARZA AND DA SILVA CONNECTION

Fellow countryman Greg Garza is also back at training along side the rest of the team. He took it upon himself to welcome new Brazilian striker Ricardo Da Silva. Garza and Da Silva were seen laughing together while doing the various training exercises.

“We started getting along well,” said Garza “We actually began talking about where he had played and we had realized that we had both played with some mutual friends and still are in contact with those mutual friends. In the end, the football world is pretty small and it’s funny to see that I had played with some of his buddies throughout my short career. Football is a journey that allows us to make friends from all over the world, so having these mutual friends also made it easier for us to get along even better.”

AYOVI CONNECTING ON THE FIELD 

Another new signing fitting in well on his first day was Ecuadorian striker Jose Ayovi. He connected well with one touch passes with his new teammates during the team’s first practice session at the Estadio Caliente.

“I love putting in assists” said Ayovi “I will be looking to put in some key passes this season.”

Ayovi spent the last six months with Second Division affiliate Dorados of Sinaloa. He made a total of nine appearances in the Second Division and another three in the Copa MX. He has one league championship to his name having won the Ecuadorian league title in 2012 with Barcelona where he scored four goals in 31 matches that season.