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SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' quest for the career home run record will likely be stalled until 2006, raising doubts about whether he'll ever pass Hank Aaron's mark.

	Bonds

The San Francisco Giants slugger said Monday he doesn't expect to play this season because of an injured right knee that has been operated on three times since Jan. 31.

"I don't think you're going to see me out there this year," Bonds told MLB.com. "That's the reality of the situation. I'm improving. I'm happy with the progress. I'm working out hard on the exercise bike and the elliptical machine, but I'm just not there yet. The last thing I want is to get back on the field and be out again a week later."

Bonds, who turned 41 last month, has 703 home runs, third on the career list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Aaron (755). Carlton Fisk's 53 homers are the most any player has hit after turning 41, and that is exactly the number Bonds needs to break Aaron's record.

Bonds will have to do it after missing an entire season and with a knee that might never be 100 percent again. But he has often defied the odds, setting the single-season homer record with 73 in 2002 and shattering other slugging records that had stood since Ruth dominated the game more than 70 years ago.

Bonds has been rehabbing at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles under the care of physical therapist Clive Brewster and longtime Angels orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum.

The Giants issued a statement Tuesday from Yocum, saying the doctor was pleased with Bonds' rehabilitation.

"I have seen improvement in terms of weight, strength and functional activities," Yocum said. "While some swelling remains in the knee, it is minimal and not unusual for this level of activity. At this point, I cannot give a definitive answer to when or if he will play in 2005."

Bonds said a recent MRI showed some fluid building up in the knee, and that doctors advised him to wait until next year to return to the Giants.

"He has not informed the Giants of that decision," assistant general manager Ned Colletti told The Associated Press.

Giants spokesman Jim Moorehead said general manager Brian Sabean would have no further comment until he got more information from doctors.

Bonds' publicist, Rachael Vizcarra, said Tuesday she had not talked to Bonds about the report.

Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, said he had not spoken to the slugger Monday but suggested any decision by Bonds not to play this season would not be an easy one.

"I know that not being in the lineup like this is killing him," Borris told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Just last month, Bonds was optimistic when he joined the team briefly during a road trip in Los Angeles. On his personal Web site two weeks ago, Bonds wrote he was hopeful he could return in September.

But Bonds told MLB.com that an MRI performed last week by Dr. Arthur Ting showed more swelling in the knee.

"The doctors say it's wise for me to work out hard this winter and be ready to go next season," Bonds said. "I want to be out there and play the whole year.

"I'm just going to listen to what the doctors tell me. The doctors are telling me to let it heal, so I'm going to let it heal."

Bonds now hopes to be ready for Opening Day in 2006, the final season of his contract with the Giants.

"That's what my goal is right now and I expect to be ready," he said. "But the doctors are telling me playing this year might put that in jeopardy, that I could undo any gains I've already made. No matter how much I want to play, I'm not going to let that happen."

The Giants (45-59) have struggled without Bonds, but are still only 5½ games behind Arizona and San Diego in the weak NL West. The Giants hoped their star slugger could return in time to help them make a playoff push.

"I know I could help if I was out there," he said. "This is my life. This is my career -- on the baseball field. But right now, I can't help and it's killing me."

Bonds batted .362 last season with 45 homers and 101 RBIs and walked a major league-record 232 times on the way to his record seventh MVP award.

His most recent operation was May 2 to drain fluid and examine an infection.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press