Baseball: Dejected Bonds hobbles out of new season

San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds fears he could miss at least half the new season after his latest knee operation.

"Three knee surgeries in four months, three months, whatever it is, I'm tired, guys, I'm just tired," he said at the Giants' spring training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, yesterday.

The latest operation faced by the seven-time National League most valuable player was an arthroscopic procedure on March 17 for tears in his right knee.

Bonds, who hobbled into the camp on crutches, had hoped to play by the opening day of the season on April 5, but after the latest surgery the Giants said they did not have a timetable for his return.

"Right now I am just going to try to rehab myself back to ... I don't know ... hopefully the middle of the season ... I don't know.

"I'll do the best I can," said Bonds, who described himself as being "inner hurt, physical, mentally done".

He is third on the home-run list with 703, behind Babe Ruth on 714 and Hank Aaron on 755.

Bonds, who has become embroiled in the steroids scandal connected to the Balco laboratories, said he would try "to let myself heal", but noted: "I'm 40 years old, not 20, 30".

He also criticised the media.

"You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there," he said.

"I'm just tired, guys.

"They [the media] wanted me to jump off the bridge. I have finally jumped.

"You wanted to bring me down.

"You have finally brought me and my family down.

"You've finally done it.

"So now go pick a different person. I'm done."

Bonds' former girlfriend, Kimberly Bell, said he had told her he had taken steroids, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Bonds' lawyer said in December that the player took creams and oils that could have contained steroids, but did so unknowingly.

- REUTERS