Soto had not trained for 11 months and two weeks before joining the Mainz first team for Wednesday's session.
Soto had not trained for 11 months and two weeks before joining the Mainz first team for Wednesday's session.

Elkin Soto back in full training for Mainz

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

One year on from an horrific leg-break, 1. FSV Mainz 05's Colombia international midfielder Elkin Soto is back in full-training with the 05ers.

"I am very happy to once again be with my colleagues on the pitch," said the 35-year-old Colombian, capped 26 times by his country.

Soto had suffered what looked to be a career-ending injury in Mainz's 2-1 loss to Hamburger SV on Matchday 31 of the 2014/15 campaign, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus in his left leg after colliding with Rafael van der Vaart.

The veteran midfielder's eight-year stay with the Rhineland-Palatinate club had been due to come to an end last summer, but he was offered a one-year extension to help aid his rehabilitation. Soto - who has played 190 games for Martin Schmidt's side - could feature before the end of the season.

*Elkin #Soto is back in the mix! The Colombian is being guided step-by-step back to #Mainz05 first-team training.