TRIPLE-premiership Brisbane Lions midfielder Nigel Lappin has admitted he may only have a couple of months of football left, with the four-time All-Australian battling to overcome an Achilles injury in time for what may be a last tilt at finals' action.

Lappin has not played since the Lions' defeat of Port Adelaide in round four after struggling with Achilles tendonitis all year, with scans last week revealing a trapped nerve inside the calf muscle was further hindering the co-captain's recovery.

Lappin also admitted the thought of retirement had crossed his mind, but remained firm in his desire to do everything possible to return to senior football before the season's end. "I may only have a couple of months left in footy, so I just really want to try and enjoy it and get the most out of it given my situation."

Lappin suggested that the most optimistic scenario would see him ready to resume playing by round 16 and would then be given up to three games to find match fitness in the reserves, meaning that he would be unlikely to play for the Lions until round 19 at the earliest. Lappin has proven himself a durable player in a glittering 279-game career with the Lions, and is accustomed to playing through pain, but in recent years the toll on his body has begun to add up. He has played only 22 games in his past three seasons.

"When it first happened I thought I was going to have a week off, and it's now been 10 games, 11 weeks that I've missed, and little bits of training have only stirred it up, so with each stir-up comes more frustration," Lappin said.

"It's the missing of large chunks of games that's really frustrating because you go back to square one — you've got to condition yourself to play again, you've got to get match fit, whereas if you're missing two or three weeks it can often freshen you up."