Toronto FC captain Torsten Frings returns to Toronto on personal matter

ORLANDO, Fla. – Toronto FC captain Torsten Frings has left training camp to return to Toronto on a personal matter.

“He’s just got a personal situation he wanted to deal with,” assistant coach Fran O’Leary was quoted on mlssoccer.com. “He had a chat with Ryan (manager Ryan Nelsen). Ryan was happy to (give him permission).We’re all stuck down here, so any time there’s a personal matter we’ll give the players freedom to take care of those things.”

The 36-year-old former German international is returning from hip surgery that cut his 2012 season short. The MLS team tweeted that Frings, who has been training with the team and has seen pre-season game action, will continue his rehabilitation in Toronto.

Nelsen, meanwhile, was also away from camp Friday. He returned to England to tie up some loose ends of his own and to talk to some players, according to mlssoccer.com.

Toronto plays the Philadelphia Union on Saturday in its third game at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic. The team is 1-1-0 to date.