THE WESTERN Bulldogs are determined to involve injured veteran Scott West in their upcoming finals series in a significant off-field capacity, after the seven-time club champion conceded his season was over on Monday evening.

West, 33, has been restricted to just four senior games this year owing to stress on his knee bone, and has not played in the club's firsts since round six.

He played his first game since April just over a week ago for the club's VFL affiliate Williamstown, but was visibly hampered as he hobbled through the match.

Bulldogs football operations manager James Fantasia said the club will now look to involve West in its approaching September campaign with a non-playing role, and will refrain from talking about his future beyond 2008 until the season is officially over.

"He still plays a significant role within our group," Fantasia told afl.com.au on Monday evening.

"He's in our leadership group and he's played an active role in a lot of the off-field stuff, and I don't think that will change at all.

"It's been pretty much about this year only, and as we said to him, we're happy to make further evaluations at the conclusion of the year, like we normally would.

Fantasia explained the decision to call off the comeback was made by West, after the veteran was unable to get himself up to appear in the VFL again on the weekend.

"This has been going on for a number of months and it's just got the stage where he feels and we feel that it's going to be pretty much impossible for him to get back this year," he said.

"The reality was, and not withstanding the pain, that it wasn't necessarily about him picking up 40 touches or having a best on ground performance [in the VFL]; it was all about him being able to cover the ground and get himself across it freely.

"The discomfort wasn't enabling him to do that, so that's probably where the assessment has come from."

The injury was initially diagnosed as stress on the bone, with surgery not an option and rest and rehabilitation the only solution.

West has suffered a handful of setbacks on his road to recovery, but Fantasia said the club never expected the injury to ruin his season the way it has.

"Probably if it was anyone but Scott West, a few weeks ago you might have been able to tell it was season ending, but he's always been able to manage his injuries well because he's a very durable guy," he said.

"I don't think anyone would have foretold what appeared to be a lesser injury earlier in the year would hang around and develop into a season finisher."

Fantasia said West was dealing with the decision to bring the curtain down on his 16th season as a player, and with ending the hope of appearing for just his eighth finals appearance.

"He's very disappointed, and that's probably underplaying it a bit," he said.

"In his career, he hasn't had too many injuries that have kept him out of the game, so this is all a bit new for him.

"We tried to give him every opportunity to get back for finals but he just hasn't been able to get up quick enough."