KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Martín Ojeda is starting to feel like himself again.
The Argentine midfielder returned to the field this past weekend at Minnesota United after missing the Lions' previous 10 matches, and while Orlando had to settle for a 3-3 draw at Allianz Field, getting Ojeda back out there with his teammates marked a significant step in his recovery.
"Well, I felt very good. Honestly, I really missed being with my teammates on the field, being with them and stepping back onto a field again," Ojeda said at Orlando Health Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park on Thursday. "I'm happy about that, happy to be back and present again. So now the idea is to continue recovering well, to be 100% so that I can be there with Martín [Perelman], his coaching staff, and my teammates."
The past month away from the group was a challenge for the Designated Player, who hadn't been out for an extended period for years, but the process gave him a deeper appreciation for the game and for the moments he used to take for granted.
"You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you're training on your own and you're not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable," Ojeda said. "You value being healthy more. It's like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you're experiencing."
Now in his second week back training with the full squad, Ojeda has been steadily rebuilding the rhythm he lost over the last month.
"This is my second week training with the team, and little by little I'm getting accustomed to it and getting back the rhythm I lost during a month," he said. "A month and a week is difficult because, well, this is my first, or second, injury in five or six years. I'm not someone who usually has these kinds of things happen to me, but I'm strong and ready to come back."
Ojeda's return comes at an important moment for the Lions, who host San Diego FC at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday for the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. The game comes following the match in St. Paul where Orlando let a two-goal lead slip away in the final 20 minutes before Tyrese Spicer's stoppage-time equalizer salvaged a point.
San Diego will be making the long trip across the country for the first time to face Orlando. This will be the first time since St. Louis CITY SC in 2023 that the Lions will face a team in league play they have never played before. The 2025 expansion side have won five of their last six in all competitions and will now travel to Orlando to look to keep their run. The Lions know how the cross-country travel can affect teams, but for Orlando, that's for San Diego to figure out.
"For us, it's about preparing the game. That's for us. That's their problem, not ours," Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman said. "So we take care of us, our plan, our team, and we prepare the game. Playing at home, we always want to win, even more at home. It's our house, it's our people, our family."
Beyond that, Perelman pointed to the parallels between the two clubs' seasons, both of which have had their share of ups and downs, with San Diego starting their year with a 10-match winless run.
"We know the season they've had. Things were quite complicated for them at the beginning, and then they settled in, but those are processes that are characteristic of this league," Perelman said. "In that sense, our season has been similar as well, and here we are. I think it's going to be a good match. We respect and analyze all of our opponents. We did the same with San Diego, and we prepared for our match. We're focused on that."
Kickoff Saturday at Inter.co Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Apple TV. Fans can pick up tickets here.
