ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Ben Spencer walked off the field after Toronto FC’s final preseason contest at the 2017 Rowdies Suncoast Invitational, a slight sweat on his brow after his second-half stint in the Florida sunshine.

As the regular season approached, the U.S. U23 international was back where he had hoped to be.

“It’s very rewarding, and has been the culmination of a lot of hard work to get to this point,” Spencer in February following a game against the Chicago Fire at Al Lang Stadium. “Just to be back on the field and playing and feeling good, it’s a great feeling.”

It was a feeling Spencer hadn’t had consistently in a very long time. Considered a bright prospect in his age-group alongside the likes of fellow U.S. youth internationals Kellyn Acosta, Paul Arriola and Cameron Carter-Vickers when he turned professional in December of 2012 with Norwegian club Molde, he was well on the way to success.

Then the injuries started to hit. A torn meniscus in his right knee sidelined him for two months in 2014, and then flared up again after he returned to action. He suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament competing for the U.S. at the CONCACAF U20 Championship in 2015, which saw his journey with Molde come to an end.