Ronnie O'Brien, left, playing last year with Toronto FC, says he asked for a trade because his body couldn't handle training on BMO Field's artificial surface. (Dick Whipple/Associated Press)

Ronnie O'Brien still has a soft spot in his heart for Toronto FC.

BMO Field is another story entirely.

Traded by the Canadian club in February, O'Brien returned to Toronto for the first time as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes in Saturday's 0-0 draw.

"It was great to be back. I really enjoyed my time here, injuries notwithstanding, but for the most part I really enjoyed being here because it's a great place to play," O'Brien said.

A fan favourite during his brief tenure in Toronto, O'Brien received a fair share of boos every time he touched the ball in Saturday's contest.

"That's expected. It doesn't matter what the reason is when you leave," said O'Brien, who took the jeering in good fun.

When he was healthy, O'Brien, 29, was Toronto's best player and creative linchpin in midfield last season, the team's first in Major League Soccer.

But the Irishman missed the team's first four games of the campaign with a knee injury, and then hurt his knee again in a July exhibition match against English club Aston Villa before having season-ending surgery in August.

O'Brien was not a fan of playing on the artificial field turf surface at BMO Field, and wasn't shy about telling reporters that he felt it played a part in his injury problems.

Not surprisingly, he ended up being traded to the Earthquakes, who play on grass.

O'Brien maintains that he would have stayed in Toronto if the club practised at a facility with grass instead of BMO Field.

"It was having to train on the field, that's why I left," O'Brien said. "Playing on it, I probably could have handled it, but training on it every single day, it was just too much for me.

"After the couple of operations I had in the off-season, it was recommended to me by doctors that I don't be on it every day."

O'Brien said he was sad to leave Toronto — indicating media reports that suggested he didn't think much of the city were untrue — but he had to think about his health, which is why he asked to be traded.

"I would have stayed — there's no question about it because I loved it here. Playing in front of those fans every week, why would I want to leave? But training on that turf every day, I just couldn't do it," O'Brien said.

The field turf at BMO Field also prevented the club from landing Darren Huckerby.

Toronto owned the MLS rights to Huckerby, who spent the past five seasons with Norwich City, but the club traded him to San Jose last week because the English forward had concerns about playing and training on an artificial surface.

"It's a great stadium. The fans are great, the atmosphere is great, it's just the field that posed a problem," Huckerby said.