ST KILDA veteran Leigh Montagna has ruled himself out of the Saints' season-opening clash with Melbourne as he continues to battle a right calf strain. 

The 33-year-old, who took no part in the JLT Community Series due to the injury, performed run-throughs away from the main group on Wednesday, before leaving the track early.

Montagna confirmed he was behind schedule in his recovery to play in round one, but was hopeful of returning the following week against West Coast at Domain Stadium.

"I'm not far away at all but I think conditioning-wise, I'm going to end up a session or two short," Montagna told Fox Footy on Wednesday night.

"So most likely, I'll miss round one and definitely be available for round two.

"This time of year the last thing you want to do is re-injure it, so we're not going to rush it."

Montagna has played 271 games since debuting in 2002, including 22 last year.

His contract expires at the end of 2017.