Collingwood champion Dane Swan will make a call on whether he continues his AFL career within a month.
The veteran remains open to playing on in 2017 after breaking his foot in the opening minutes of the season against the Sydney Swans.
"I'm reasonably close to making it (a decision), I just have to speak to the surgeon again and a couple of people in my trusted circle and go from there," Swan told Triple M on Friday night.
Adding he expects to do a press conference once his decision is made, Swan said his future hinges on whether he believes he can play pain-free.
"If I think I go round and not be in pain with my foot and not ache, I'll play on.
"But if there's any little doubt there that I don't think I can get through a year without pain or starting to resent footy, waking up aching and walking with a 'loser's limp' doing more damage to my foot for the rest of my life, well I won't go on," he said.
The good news for Pies fans is Swan has started running on an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill and has not faced any major hurdles during his recovery.
However, there remains much to do before any return to football, including the removal of "five or six" screws from the foot that suffered a Lisfranc injury in round one.
Swan, who will turn 33 next February, has played 258 games for the Pies and won the 2011 Brownlow Medal.