Retiring Richmond midfielder Ben Cousins admits he is in "a race against the clock" to be able to play his last AFL match.

While the Tigers are hopeful that the Brownlow Medallist will be ready for Sunday's Etihad Stadium game against Port Adelaide, Cousins said on Tuesday he will have to prove his fitness.

Typically of Cousins' tumultuous football career, this week will be a dramatic end.

The much-anticipated documentary about his battle against drug addiction, Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins, will screen on Wednesday and Thursday nights and now he is no certainty to be in Richmond's team this weekend.

He injured his hamstring on Saturday against St Kilda and has not trained since.

"I haven't broken out of a stride, I haven't done anything really to see if I can justify playing this week," he told Melbourne radio station Nova 100.

"Nothing ever goes to script and football doesn't work in fairytales.

"I really had my head around playing two last games but as it turns out it is a race against the clock."

Cousins said he expects to undergo a fitness test later in the week to determine if he can play on Sunday.

He noted that North Melbourne's Adam Simpson played his final game last season despite a serious calf muscle injury.

"I am not sure what is possible and what's not I will just wait for the doctors," he said.

Cousins added the documentary had been extremely important for him as he came to terms with his addiction.

"The actual process of making the documentary has been a very cathartic experience," he said.

"The whole demise through drug addiction is very self absorbed, it is the journey inwards.

"To make this documentary was almost like the journey back, to take a couple of steps back and see not just my own development but the people around me.

"For the first time I was able to sit down and see the collateral damage - not so much the football club or football industry but the people around me.

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