St Kilda veteran Leigh Montagna has admitted he may have played his last game following the hamstring injury he sustained against Sydney last weekend.
Scans confirmed this week the 33-year-old will miss five to six weeks of football, meaning his only chance to play again this season will be if St Kilda reach the finals.
“It’s more serious than your normal hamstring,” Montagna said on Triple M on Thursday morning.
“There is still a chance that I could play finals. That’s seven weeks away because of the bye. Hopefully if we can make it I can start to push for finals but it looks unlikely that I’ll play this home and away season.”
Montagna remains unsigned beyond this season and is yet to be offered a new deal by the Saints.
Given his injury, it now appears even more unlikely that the veteran will be offered a new contract and Montagna admitted his playing future is "up in the air".
"I could have played my last game, but I’ll meet with the club," he said.
"We sort of had a brief chat, it will either be the end of next week or the start of the week after.
“I’m in no urgent rush to find out. So in the next two weeks we’ll all get together and have those conversations about everyone’s doubts, concerns, possibilities and make a decision from there.”
Montagna has played 287 games for the Saints, since making his debut in 2003.
He has been a model of consistency over the past decade, playing at least 20 games in every season except one in the past 11 years. He is a two-time All-Australia and two-time club best and fairest runner-up.
The Saints currently sit 11th on the ladder, equal on points with the eighth placed Bombers, with nine wins and eight losses, however, face a tough run home with Port Adelaide, West Coast, Melbourne, North Melbourne and Richmond to come.