He was on the treadmill one day thinking he was going to have another routine off-season afternoon when, suddenly, Tra Thomas' world was turned upside down.

Tightness in the back of his left knee turned into something far more serious, something that, had he not taken care of it, could have meant much more than missing a few football games.

It could have meant the end of his life.

"You don't take those kinds of things for granted and let them go," said Thomas, who in the early spring found out that he had a blood clot in his left leg and was instructed, right away, to lay off the football stuff for three to six months. "Fortunately, everything has worked out well for me."

OT Tra Thomas has been in three Pro Bowls in his seven Eagles seasons

Thomas is back. He's ready for training camp. After getting his workout on Wednesday morning at the NovaCare Complex, Thomas talked about his illness and subsequent recovery.

Scared? No, not really. Thomas admits the news of his illness was jolting, but he gained his senses very quickly.

"No fear at all. I just knew this was something that I had to work on and do whatever treatment needed to be done," said Thomas. "That was it. When I found out about it, it was a shock. After that, it was all about getting better and getting back on the field. My wife and I prayed over it and then released it.

"It's just something that happens. It's not like I had a heart attack or something like that. It's treatable and it's something that I can come back from.

"My wife is a nurse and she knew what it was. I didn't stress out about it at all. I did what the doctors told me and had faith everything would be fine. That's the way it turned out."

Thomas was working out on the stephill machine -- an incline treadmill, if you will -- with some of his fellow offensive linemen when he felt a tightness in his knee. That pain became a throb and with the area swollen, he had an immediate diagnosis.

Good thing.

"If you don't treat it and they don't catch it in time, it can break off and get into your lungs, and that's when you have serious problems," said Thomas. "But if you take the medication and take care of yourself, you're going to be fine.

"I'm fine. Tell everybody I'm fine."

That's good news for the Eagles, who look to Thomas to protect, as he has since 1998, Donovan McNabb's back side. Thomas has been one of the best left tackles in the history of the Eagles -- he's made three Pro Bowls and has missed just one game in his seven NFL seasons.

And if there is a silver lining to his illness, it's that Thomas is frisky as camp approaches.

"I'll come into camp a little fresher. It is going to work out for the greater good," he said. "Having this helped me get rid of some things I should have gotten rid of, anyway. It helps me, in the end. I have to watch what I put in my body. No drinking. No leafy foods. Stuff like that.

"I can't say I missed practice, but I missed being out there with the fellas and taking part in the offensive line stuff we do with Juan (Castillo). It's all good. It's done and over with.

"I found out about the blood clot and then came in the next day and worked out with my right leg. It didn't stop me from doing any of my workouts. I was able to make all of my workouts."

There is probably going to be some rust to knock off early in training camp. After all, Thomas hasn't seen a live pass rush since the Super Bowl. He's only worked on his pass sets with his son, teaching the youngster the finer points of left tackle on the practice field.

But all in all, hey, things couldn't be better. Thomas is in shape. His weight is good. The medication worked and the blood clot is gone. Thomas is ready for the green light to practice when he reports next week.

"I think the illness calmed me down a little bit," he said. "You learn to feed your body a little bit better, take care of things. I'm excited and ready to go. It's time to go out and do what we've got to do."