The Adelaide United midfielder has been out of action since December when he was diagnosed with the condition after a 3-1 home defeat by Sydney FC.

He is close to resuming duties once again and could yet play a part in the club’s Champions League campaign this season.

He told the Adelaide Advertiser: “I got the all-clear last Friday to finally get off the blood-thinning tablets.

“It (the medicine) takes about six days to get out of my system. I see the specialist on Thursday as to what I can and can’t do.”

Sarkies was unable to feature in full training when he was put on blood thinners to cure a clot in his left arm.

But one of the side-effects of blood thinners - the risk of severe bleeding - halted Sarkies.

The chance of sustaining a training knock which could lead to severe bruising and bleeding may have put the midfielder in danger while he was undergoing treatment for DVT.

He said: “When I first started kicking a soccer ball I got badly bruised feet. Adidas made my boots with a bit more padding on the tongue and the sole so it's a bit more comfortable.

“That helped a lot and it's helping me to get rid of the bruising.
“I actually went a bit mental the other week. I was feeling 100 per cent and did a few too many kicks. But they're coming off the boot nicely.”

More than 90 days after the health scare, he expects to get medical clearance today for the first time since the condition put a premature end to his A-League season.

The condition left him hospitalised for more than a week. He said: “I didn’t think how bad it was until they told me in the hospital.

“Hopefully I’ve become a stronger person because of it. But we still can’t figure out why it happened.”