Kimmo Timonen: 'Slim chance' the Flyers defenseman returns

Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, in his first public comments since he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and right leg in early August, admitted that his career is hanging by a thread.

"My desire is that I want to play, but the chance of me playing is really slim. That's the fact," Timonen said at a hastily called news conference Thursday at the Flyers training facility in Voorhees.

Timonen, 39, said he has seen several doctors since he was diagnosed, and that the blood clots have not gone away.

"I have to listen to doctors and see what's safe here," he said.

Timonen, who is on blood thinners, said he probably won't know if the blood clots are gone until he has medical tests in January. That will determine whether he can play again. Doctors have told him it usually takes three to six months for the blood clots to go away.

"We have no definitive answers," general manager Ron Hextall said.

The hope, Hextall said, is that the blood clots will have cleared by January, "and then we move into the next step. Whether Kimmo will play or not, we don't know at this point. It will be more of a wait-and-see" approach.

Hextall said "first and foremost" the organization was concerned about Timonen's health and his family. "Second is the hockey part," he said. "We would never put him in danger. On the other hand, if we feel at that point that he is capable of playing, we would certainly welcome him back later in the year."

Timonen revealed he has a blood disorder in his family that puts people at risk for blood clots.