GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Clayton Kershaw admittedly wasn't prepared for what foot surgery would entail. He spent four weeks on crutches and another four weeks in a walking boot. For more than a month, every step brought with it excruciating pain.

Being a normal dad to his four children was difficult. And yet Kershaw, who has contemplated retirement for years now, went through a painstaking rehab for the chance to pitch again this summer, even though his Los Angeles Dodgers had just secured another championship.

This time, retirement wasn't even entertained.

"I hope this is the last time I have to rehab -- I'm kind of done with that -- but at the same time, I don't want that to be the reason that I stop playing," Kershaw said after Thursday's workout.

"I don't want to be, 'I just can't do it hurt,' you know? Hopefully I can walk out on my own terms, whenever that is. But it just didn't feel like it was the right time, even though we won. Being on the shelf for that wasn't the way that I had scripted it out. Still super thankful to be a part of it last year and get to see everything, but I want to be out there when it happens."

Kershaw, who will celebrate his 37th birthday on March 19, underwent shoulder surgery in November of 2023, made his way back into the Dodgers' rotation in late July of the following summer, made seven starts, aggravated a long-standing toe injury and didn't pitch again, sitting idly by in October.

Shortly after the Dodgers secured their second championship in five years -- and their first in a full season since 1988 -- Kershaw underwent surgery to address a bone spur and a ruptured plantar plate in his left foot, as well as a procedure to remedy a meniscus tear in his left knee.

Rehabbing the former proved to be far more difficult than rehabbing the latter. The Dodgers saved a roster spot for him nonetheless, waiting for Kershaw to gain more clarity on his timeline before finalizing a contract. His new deal -- with a guarantee of $7.5 million and a host of incentives -- was agreed to on Tuesday and became official on Thursday.

In recent years, Kershaw has toyed with the idea of finishing his career with his hometown Texas Rangers, who employ Chris Young, one of his best friends, as president of baseball operations.

That is no longer the case.

"I'm a Dodger," Kershaw said. "I'm so thankful for this organization. I don't think I put enough merit on it at times, at what it means to be able to be in one organization for your entire career. You look at people throughout all of sports that have been able to do that, and it is special. It is. I don't want to lose sight of that. Getting to be here for my whole career, however long that is, is definitely a goal. Thankful that I get to continue this journey."

Kershaw has been walking on his own for roughly six weeks and was able to begin running when he reported to Camelback Ranch earlier this week. Kershaw is currently only able to long-toss, but he anticipates throwing bullpen sessions at some point next month and alluded to making it back into the rotation at some point in late May or early June. At that point, he'll slot somewhere within a loaded rotation featuring Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.

Whether this is his last year remains to be seen.

"It's been year to year for a number of years now," said Kershaw, whose last multiyear contract expired after the 2021 season. "We'll just see how it goes at the end of this year."

After finishing an eight-minute scrum with the media, Kershaw grabbed his rolling suitcase and went back to Highland Park, Texas, where he will continue his rehab. He anticipates being back and forth between the team and his home until getting into the late stages of his rehab, similar to how he navigated last year.

It wasn't necessarily planned this way, but at this point, he appreciates it.

"From a family perspective, I'm very thankful that I get to go home a little bit at the beginning of the season and get to do the school stuff," Kershaw said. "Cali's in fourth grade, and it's getting harder to leave; she's actually learning stuff. So it is a little bit harder to leave home and stuff like that. But at the same time, it's not by design. I'm not even going to think about next year, but, if I was healthy, it wouldn't be that way."