Bruschi will try to return

In an exclusive interview with the Globe Sept. 1, Bruschi described in detail how he suffered a stroke in his home following his return from the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Bruschi awoke at 4 a.m. feeling numbness on his left side and a dull pain in his neck. He went back to sleep and awoke several hours later with the same symptoms, as well as unsteadiness and a loss of peripheral vision.

He was rushed by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was immediately diagnosed as a stroke victim. Bruschi said doctors believed the stroke was the result of a blood clot that traveled through a small hole in his heart. The harrowing ordeal initially left him without vision out of his left eye and unable to walk without assistance. Those frightening symptoms have long since subsided, and Bruschi declared himself fit during the September interview. Yet Bruschi also ruled out a return to football during the 2005 season, saying, ''I need time. I think I've healed faster physically than I have emotionally."

Asked at that juncture if he would entertain thoughts of a return this season, Bruschi said, ''I'm telling you right now that's not going to happen. I need to do what's best for my family and myself.

''There's a difference between living life normally and being fine and getting ready for a professional football season. I need the year to get myself ready."

Asked about those comments last night, Bruschi said simply, ''Things change. What I said at the time was 100 percent accurate."

As for reports Patriots owner Robert Kraft would not allow Bruschi to attempt a comeback this season, the linebacker said, ''I don't want to speak for Robert Kraft. All I can tell you is he has been 100 percent supportive from Day 1, and that hasn't changed."

Sources close to the Patriots and Bruschi said that while Kraft has concerns about Bruschi's decision to attempt to return this season, he has pledged his support for his player and has stressed the ultimate decision whether to play or not remains Bruschi's.

When Bruschi approached Kraft about returning sooner than planned, sources said, the Patriots' owner contacted a host of specialists throughout the country and made them available to Bruschi, in addition to the team's medical staff.