St. Louis Blues superstar defenseman Chris Pronger says his wrist injury is so serious that retirement has crossed his mind.

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"People don't understand how serious this is," Pronger told The Hockey News prior to a press conference to explain to the St. Louis media the affect three operations on his left wrist have had and what his future holds. "People ask me if I would really retire. Well, at some point you have to say enough is enough. You prepare yourself for the best, which obviously is me playing again. But you also prepare yourself for the worst, which would be retiring.

"People ask me when I'm coming back and I tell them I don't know. They say, 'No really, when are you coming back?' I tell them, 'You'll know I'm back when I'm back because that's when I'll know.' Until then, how the hell do I know? I'm in the second stage of rehab, which is getting my wrist better.

"This is uncharted territory for me. I don't know how long it will be before I can play."

The Blues captain and member of Canada's gold medal-winning Olympic team last February, Pronger has not played this season after knee and wrist surgeries last summer.

Pronger, 28, had a plate put in his wrist Feb. 27, 2001, and had bone spurs, bone chips and ligaments removed, as well as having a bone filed down May 21, 2002. Then, after his wrist locked on him, he had an inch of bone removed Oct. 21, 2002. He has only recently begun to do light weight work in an effort to strengthen the injured wrist. The NHL's most valuable player and best defenseman in 2000, Pronger said he gets frustrated when he hears people say he should be back playing.

"You have an inch of bone removed, ligaments removed … you know the surgeries were done to correct the problem, but at some point repeated surgeries end up making the area weaker," Pronger said. "It takes a toll on you."

In a perfect world, Pronger would play another 10 years, pain- and injury-free.

However, he has started to mentally prepare himself for the worst. His plan is to play this season, but if there is too much pain, retirement is a very real possibility.

"Ultimately you have to ask yourself what is in your best interests long-term," Pronger said. "Do I want to squeeze an extra 40 games in and then not be able to use my wrist at all in three years? No. Do I want to not be able to pick up my kid? No. Because that's what happened; I couldn't even lift my son (Jack)."

Material from The Hockey News.
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