RICHMOND veteran Brett Deledio will be put in cotton wool for the rest of the season after the Tigers confirmed a calf injury has ended his year.

The 29-year-old suffered the injury in the Tigers' round 17 win over Essendon, with the club initially playing down the severity of the problem.

But Richmond on Wednesday ruled out Deledio for the final three rounds of the year, saying the "persistent" injury has limited Deledio from progressing his running program on the sidelines.

The Tigers stressed that Deledio has not suffered a setback, but football manager Dan Richardson said the important midfielder would be put on ice to be ready for the start of the pre-season.

"Brett loves to compete with his teammates each week, but unfortunately he won't make it back in time to play this season," Richardson told richmondfc.com.au.

"Brett's an outstanding leader both on and off the field, and an important player in our team. We look forward to him being available for the start of pre-season.

"We're confident with a full pre-season we'll see Brett playing more consistently next year, after missing a number of games this season due to injury."

The Tigers have struggled in recent years without Deledio, who has run into some soft-tissue injury problems over the past two seasons.

His pre-season campaign this year was ruined by calf problems and he will finish the year having played just 11 games – the lowest tally of his 12 seasons at Richmond.

The Tigers face Geelong at the MCG this Sunday before closing their season with clashes against St Kilda and the Sydney Swans.