DUSTIN Fletcher has not decided whether he will retire at the end of this season but the Essendon veteran will have no regrets if his ageing body denies him the chance to add to his 400-game tally.

Fletcher played his 400^th game in round nine against Richmond but has not played since because of a lingering groin injury. 

The 40-year-old was at a press conference on Tuesday with AFL games record holder Michael Tuck and North Melbourne's Brent Harvey to celebrate the 37-year-old Kangaroo's upcoming 400^th game on Saturday night.

'I'll be the last' to 400, says Harvey

Asked whether he was likely to play again, Fletcher said he was hopeful of returning before the end of this season. 

Fletcher also said he had yet to make a decision on whether he would play on for a record 24^th AFL season next year, and had yet to sit down with anyone at Essendon to discuss his future.

"Obviously I've had a bit of a sore groin and it's flared up a couple of times, so that's just a bit disappointing," Fletcher said. 

"But I'll do my best – there's seven games to go – to try and get back out and have a bit of a run.

"But a 40-year-old with a bit of a sore groin probably doesn't look too flash, so we'll just have to see how we go in the next [seven] weeks." 

The 400 club: Dustin Fletcher, Brent Harvey, Michael Tuck and Kevin Bartlett. Picture: AFL Media

Fletcher did suggest, however, that if he had to return via the VFL he might decide he was better off hanging up his boots.

"We'll go through that when it happens but, again, a 40-year-old running around in the VFL … I'm probably better off running around for Aberfeldie in the local comp," he said.

But Fletcher was not worried that he might have played his last game.

"To play 400 games is fantastic. To have your family there and even teammates that might have played five games, to have them there at my game is something I'll always remember," Fletcher said.

"To sneak a beer in with them after the game was what you play footy for."

Asked how Harvey should approach his milestone game against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Friday night, Fletcher advised the Roo "just to enjoy himself".

"We spoke just before about the occasion and with mine I probably felt a little bit of the pressure in the end having a fair bit of media around and trying to knock over the press conference and the radio interviews," he said.

"I just think enjoy it as much as you can because 400 games is a pretty good achievement.

"I can sit back now and enjoy watching Boomer going around."