Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee said he has had discussions with free agent teammate Zak Butters about his future, but like everyone else, he will find out his decision at the conclusion of the year.
Butters is weighing up a quartet of Victorian clubs, with Geelong, Collingwood, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs vying hard for his signature.
Adding further intrigue to his decision is that the gun midfielder is currently sidelined with a syndesmosis injury, but he's hopeful of a Round 24 return.
"I've talked to him throughout the year, and he's made it pretty clear to everyone inside and outside the footy club that he just wants to push it to the end of the year so it doesn't create a distraction for anyone," Rozee said on SEN.
"I know from the outside, it makes it seem worse. But from the inside, it has made things a lot easier for everyone. We don't have to continually ask him where his head's at or what he's thinking.
"I left him to his own devices. If you keep pushing that sort of thing on someone, it can go the other way. We talk about it a fair bit, but he's going to make his decision at the end of the year."
Rozee has dealt with his own injury woes that have wiped him out of virtually the entire 2026 season.
The Power skipper went down with a serious hamstring injury in Round 2 against Essendon, in what was anticipated to be a three-to-four month return time frame.
However, further scans revealed there was nerve damage, preventing Rozee from hitting maximum speeds, leading to the club's decision in June to rule him out of the season.
"It's been a frustrating one for sure," Rozee said.
"The initial injury - what they thought it was - was basically just a hamstring coming off the bone, which would've been roughly 14-16 weeks. Should've been back for a month or two now. But after nine or 10 weeks, I started to plateau a bit, and we went back in and looked at what was going on and found the nerve wasn't letting the muscles fire as much, so my rehab was probably slowing down a bit.
"With nerves, they take quite a long time to regrow and repair if they're damaged. It's a long process. I'm taking little steps, and I'm getting there.
"I've got no pain whatsoever. So I can run at high speeds, but I can't get to that 90 per cent plus. It feels like I've got a weight on my leg. It feels more tired than my right leg. My gym, I'm still lifting pretty heavy and running two or three times a week.
"I'll be back for Round 1; it's just that they can't put a timeline on when your nerve will start to fire."
