KEY POINTS:
Melbourne Tigers star Sam Mackinnon has confronted the thought his basketball career could be over because of a recurrence of blood clots on his lungs.
Awaiting a flight home from Darwin and eager to meet with specialists this week to determine the cause and severity of his latest
medical setback, Mackinnon said putting his health first could mean he has played his last game.
"It's a possibility that could be the case," said Mackinnon, who has already conceded his Australian NBL season over.
"I haven't just got the blinkers on, thinking I'll come back and play after three months given the history of it.
"The fact that I've got a young family, I just want to get my health right and if that involves me playing basketball again, that would be fantastic.
"But I'm also not silly enough to think that I'll be OK and I can just play basketball again 100 per cent, because I know there's a chance there that I may not play again.
"It's disappointing if that was to be the case, but I'll learn more about that in time once I've done some testing."
Mackinnon was forced out of Australia's Olympic campaign in Beijing when diagnosed with blood clots in April, which meant three months on the sidelines.
He thought he had overcome the problem by starting the current campaign well, having also returned from a serious knee injury while playing with the now-defunct Brisbane Bullets last season.
But the 32-year-old felt "not right" when he landed in Townsville last week, felt unwell during his side's loss to the Crocs last Wednesday, and then found himself short of breath with his heart racing after a short training session in Darwin last Friday.
The former Boomers captain and league MVP said he was not surprised when diagnosed with a recurrence of the blood clots, although he was unsure why the condition had returned.
"The first time they thought it was because I was crook and had a bug in the system, whereas this time it seems to have been brought on with the travel," he said.
"It's difficult to say why it's come back and if I'm a carrier, so I need to get back home and see the specialists and work it out."
Mackinnon sat out his side's win over Perth in Darwin on Saturday night and was on Monday cleared by a cardiologist to fly home Tuesday.
Tigers coach Al Westover conceded he would be without his star recruit for the rest of the season, and Mackinnon said being ready for the next season would be the best outcome.
"Ideally it would be nice to come off three months and everything be OK again," he said.
"That would be the best diagnosis right now, but because it has recurred pretty quickly I'm not sure if that will be the case."
- AAP