By LANCE HORNBY 

Dmitry Yushkevich is no closer to knowing when he will return to the Maple Leafs and the possibility remains he will miss the rest of the season. 

The defenceman had his blood clot assessed by specialist Dr. Eric Yu yesterday at Toronto General Hospital. Although Yushkevich got the okay to work out when the team reconvenes tomorrow, there was no guess at a return date to play. 

"Dr. Yu is being more conservative than the first doctors we talked to," Yushkevich said yesterday. "He told me the clot would disappear in about two weeks. But I would still have to be on blood thinners and that would make it too dangerous to play." 

Yushkevich said the thinners can be taken as pills, which stay in the body three or four days, or through injections. With the latter, the dosage can be adjusted low enough to play in a game and then increased afterward. 

"It's an option, but not a great option," Yushkevich said. "Chris Broadhurst (the Leafs therapist) and I met after we talked to the doctor. We're happy there's still some hope to play this year. 

"What will happen next is that they will do an ultrasound in a couple of weeks and see what the condition of the clot is. If it's good, we'll have a big meeting: myself, Chris, my family, my agent (Mark Gandler), the doctors and the Leafs and see what's best for me."