Thursday's shocker - New York Mets reveal Jose Reyes visited Tiger Woods' troubled doctor Tony Galea

New York

Mets shortstop Jose Reyes joined the long list of athletes who have visited Tony Galea's Toronto offices, but unlike many of the doctor's true believers, Reyes says Galea's controversial "blood-spinning" treatment didn't help him.

Reyes, who missed most of the 2009 season after suffering a torn right hamstring tendon, thought the blood-spinning treatment might expedite his return to the lineup. He eventually had surgery to address the injury.

"A lot of people talked about (Galea). I wanted to come back so bad to the field to play, so I say, 'Why not? Let's try this guy and see if he can fix me,'" Reyes said during an interview on WFAN Radio yesterday.

Reyes said the treatment - which Galea also used on embattled golfer Tiger Woods - failed to help him recover. The process - also known as platelet rich plasma therapy or PRP - involves putting a patient's blood in a centrifuge to separate the platelets then injecting the blood back into the patient.

According to Reyes, Galea treated him only with the blood-spinning procedure and did not give him banned performance-enhancing drugs. "No, no, no, nothing like that," said Reyes. "He treat me. I went there. He just did like, PRP treatment for me. It was my own blood."

Galea came under scrutiny after his former assistant, MaryAnne Catalano, was stopped by authorities at the Canadian border Sept. 14 and found to have human growth hormone, Actovegin and "foreign labeled homeopathic drugs" along with Galea's medical bag, according to a criminal complaint and Galea's attorney, Brian Greenspan. Galea's Toronto offices - ISM Health and Fitness and Affinity Health - were also raided by authorities in October.

Catalano admitted she was bringing the drugs into the U.S. for Galea but said that he had no U.S. medical license. Greenspan will appear in a Toronto court tomorrow on behalf of Galea, who faces four charges: criminal conspiracy to import Actovegin to Canada and the U.S., conspiracy to export the drug to the U.S. and smuggling and selling an unapproved drug.

Blood-spinning is legal under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, although in 2010 it will be allowed only for injections into ligaments and tendons, not muscles. Galea has apparently built a large practice around treating athletes with what he says are progressive methods, and word of his approach to healing injuries has quickly spread in the sports world.

Donovan Bailey, the former gold medal-winning Olympic sprinter, told the Daily News that the community of elite athletes and the doctors it uses is close-knit and that Galea is well-respected in those circles.

"I've recommended Tony to many people. He's one of the most prominent doctors in Canada," said Bailey, who added that Galea treated him for a ruptured Achilles in 1999. Some of Galea's other clients include free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres and NFL quarterback Chris Simms. He is the team doctor for the Toronto Argonauts football team and has worked with the Canadian Olympic Team, top skiers, figure skaters and tennis players.

Many of the "friends" listed on Catalano's Facebook page are former athletes or have ties to the athletic world.

Sgt. Marc LaPorte of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told The News Wednesday night that the RCMP does not know where the drugs Catalano was carrying across the border were going. That part of investigation, he said, is being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

With Peter Botte