Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio reveals he's dealing with 'neurological dysfunction'

Midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who has missed Toronto FC's last four games, revealed Thursday he has been dealing with what he called a "neurological dysfunction" that dates back some two months.

The 30-year-old Osorio, a key component for both Toronto and Canada, says the problems started when he took an elbow to the head from Chicago Fire star Xherdan Shaqiri in a July 13 game. That blow to the left side of his head resulted in his jaw not being aligned properly and led to neurological issues.

"At first it seemed like a concussion. It was giving me concussion symptoms," he said.

The result was some days he felt fine, only to train and then feel poorly. Making matters worse, it took a while to diagnose the issue.

Osorio was cleared at halftime of the Chicago game and finished out the match, saying he didn't feel any symptoms at the time other than the impact of the hit itself.

"I thought OK, it's maybe just a contusion on my head. I've had that before."

He made the trip to Montreal three days later, only to be sidelined by what the club called concussion-like symptoms.

"It began as a pressure in my head and I was able to play a few games," he said.

Osorio started TFC's next seven outings, scoring four goals. But in the heat of an Aug. 20 game at Inter Miami, his third match in a week, he said the symptoms got worse including headaches that affected his vision.

"That's when I felt that maybe it was still a concussion injury," he said.

That was ruled out, however, after several medical consultations. Osorio has since started doing exercises designed to get the brain going again.

"It's slowly coming back and slowly helping the symptoms go away," said Osorio.

"In the end I think we've figured it out," he added. "I feel much