FRISCO, Texas -- Texas prospect Joey Gallo had never heard of the os trigonum bone until the end of spring training.
That's when Gallo's left ankle started to hurt and the decision was made to have surgery to remove the bone. Gallo was glad that's all it was.
"It felt like someone was putting a knife in my heel," said Gallo, who had surgery to remove the bone last Friday. "I couldn't even walk. So I was like 'We've got to get an MRI and figure out what this is.' Obviously they figured out what it was."
Gallo, who was second in the minor leagues with 42 home runs last season, was relieved to hear the diagnosis and is now looking forward to another big season.
Gallo said he had some pain in the heel for about five days before having the surgery. He showed up for Frisco's media day Monday wearing a walking boot but said he's not wearing it all the time. He meets with a doctor Friday to map out a plan but he doesn't expect to miss much time for Double-A Frisco. That's also when he'll get the stitches out of his ankle.
Former Texas catcher Geovany Soto has the same surgery last season and was back in action 16 days later. If that's the case for Gallo he'll miss just a handful of games for the Roughriders, who open the season Thursday.
"I should also miss 10 games if that," he said. "That's why we did it now. I must have done something to jar it loose."
When Gallo does start playing for the Roughriders he'll do so coming off a solid spring in his first big-league camp. Gallo hit two homers and six RBI in 32 at-bats for the Rangers. He also struck out just eight times in 32 at-bats, which is a better rate than he had last year in the minors when he struck out 179 times in 439 at-bats between Class A Myrtle Beach and Frisco.
But that wasn't the biggest thing for Gallo in Arizona.
"The experience was good for me," Gallo said of spring training. "The good thing was being around those guys, hopefully some future teammates. Trying to get to build a relationship I think that was huge."
Gallo went to camp knowing he wasn't going to make the big club. He wasn't focusing on that. Now his goal is to improve at Frisco and take the next step, whatever that is. For now he's back with teammates like Jorge Alfaro and Nomar Mazara, guys he's played with the last couple of seasons.
"It makes it more fun playing with guys I've played with for years," said Gallo of Frisco. "It makes the atmosphere a lot more loose. It makes the road trips a little more fun. I love playing with these guys. Hopefully we can all move up together. That will make it a little more special."
MORE FROM FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST:
- Ranking NFL quarterback salaries
- Oldest player on every NBA team
