Sounding more and more like a man determined to play this season, Giants slugger Barry Bonds said on Monday night that he might give his rehabilitated right knee a shot on the field sometime in September.

"Two weeks ago things didn't look too promising, but the past 10 days my rehab has taken a turn for the better," he said in his latest diary entry on barrybonds.com. "There is a good possibility that I could be back in September with the team, but, if not I will definitely be in the 2006 lineup."

Bonds said that his strength and endurance have increased "and my knee is feeling much better."

"I have been playing catch, and in the next few weeks, I hope to be in the cage doing some hitting," he said, adding this qualifier:

"However, I will continue to stand behind Dr. (Lewis) Yocum and Clyde Brewster's professional advice."

On Aug. 1, Bonds told MLB.com that the pair had warned Bonds about returning this season. Yocum is the Angels' chief orthopedic surgeon, and Brewster, a physical therapist at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles where Bonds has been working out since late June. Under those circumstances, Bonds said he didn't think he would be back until 2006.

"The last thing I want is to get back on the field and be out again a week later," he said. "The doctors say it's wise for me to work out hard this winter and be ready to go next season. 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."

On Monday, Bonds said that Yocum ran a test on his blood to determine if there was any toxicity level from the infection that plagued his knee earlier this season and forced emergency arthroscopic surgery -- the third on the same knee in a four-month period.

"It came back negative," Bonds said. "They have been testing the torque on my right leg and the levels are good. This is one more reason why I feel that my return is possible this season."

At 41 years old, Bonds is facing the possibility of missing an entire season for the first time in his 20-year big-league career.

Another contributing factor to Bonds' mindset is the fact that the Giants keep hanging around the periphery of the National League West race. All five teams in the division are under .500.

After a 7-3 victory at Cincinnati on Monday night, during which San Francisco center fielder Randy Winn hit for the cycle, the Giants are just seven games behind the first-place Padres even though they are 15 games under .500 at 51-66.

The 58-59 Padres lead the Diamondbacks by three games and the Dodgers by five games.

Considering Monday's return of closer Armando Benitez, who had been out since late April with a severe torn hamstring that needed surgery, the addition of Bonds could tilt the division race in favor of the Giants.

Bonds has been rehabbing his knee at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic since June 24 and hasn't been with the team during that period.

Bonds said last month that there is "no doubt in my mind whatsoever" that he will return to fulfill the last year of his contract in 2006. The Giants guaranteed that portion of his deal for $18 million late season after Bonds became the third player in Major League history to hit his 700th homer.

He hasn't played since the final game of the 2004 season, having ended the year with 703 homers, 11 behind Babe Ruth's 714 and 52 behind Hank Aaron's 755. He worked out on the field at Scottsdale Stadium during Spring Training and took several rounds of batting practice before succumbing to more knee surgery. Aside from playing a little soft toss at SBC Park, he hasn't been back on the field since.

Bonds had surgery on the knee to remove torn meniscus on Jan. 31 and March 17 and then had surgery to purge the infection on May 2. He also had surgery to shave debris from beneath his left knee cap last October just after the end of the season.