NEW YORK - Jeurys Familia is on the brink beginning a throwing program, but as it turns out, the Mets closer will likely be on the disabled list for at least a few more weeks.

During his pregame press conference Saturday, manager Terry Collins said the Mets believe Familia could be back "around the end of July," though they're targeting an August 1 return date.

The timetable comes one day after general manager Sandy Alderson said Familia will head to Florida shortly to begin a throwing program.

Familia has been absent since early May, when he had surgery to remove a blood clot from his right shoulder. At the time, there was some concern that the closer could miss the rest of the season.

Luckily for both Familia and the Mets, they seem to have dodged that season-ending bullet. And with Familia working largely as a one-inning pitcher, Collins believes the rehab process should move a bit quicker than most pitchers.

Still, Collins said, "we've got to get the velocity up, we've got to get the movement back," and that's bound to take some time.

"I don't think he's necessarily ahead (of schedule)," Collins said. "I think we were very lucky that the clot wasn't worse than it turned out to be. But you're still looking at a guy who's going to head to Florida next week. How many games is he going to need? How many days is he going to need? You're still looking around the end of July - August 1 is the date that we hope he'll be ready by.

"I mean, will he be ready in 10 days? I think he's going to need more than that. He's going to need outings, he's going to need to rehab. First thing he's got to do is strengthen his arm up. So that's going to take how many sides, I don't know. But at least we're at a starting point where there is some light at the end of the tunnel."

Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski.