Assistant manager Karl Robinson says defender Sean O'Hanlon could be only weeks away from a long-awaited return to first team action.

The stalwart centre-half, who has missed the first seven months of the season recovering from cruciate ligament damage, is nearing full-fitness after an arduous rehabilitation process.

O'Hanlon, 27, has been a defensive rock for the Dons in the three-and-a-half years since he joined the Club from Swindon Town - a cornerstone of the side that won promotion from League 2 in 2008, and named in the PFA Team of the Year as the Dons went close to back-to-back promotions a year later.

Having injured his knee in a game against Walsall towards the end of last season, O'Hanlon's huge presence in central defence has been sorely missed by boss Ince this term.

But Ince's number two Robbo says he could be set to provide a huge boost in the coming weeks with a timely return for the Dons' end-of-season run-in.

He said: "Sean played in a practice match the other day, he'll play in another one next week and then we're looking at another two or three weeks while he gets his fitness and game awareness back. He also needs to believe his knee is as strong as it was before he got injured.

"He's got heart, desire and a willingness to get hurt. He's prepared to go through his own players to win the ball so it'll obviously be great to have him back."

O'Hanlon was a pivotal part of Paul Ince's League 2 promotion-winning team of 2008.

Before sustaining his injury, Sean had been one of the Dons' most consistent performers since arriving in Milton Keynes in 2006. During his first three seasons he made 138 appearances - an average of 46 games a season - and scored 13 goals, including the clincher at Wembley in the 2008 Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final.

His highly-impressive credentials have draw a host of admirers including, as Karl revealed, a number of other managers in League 1.

Robbo added: "When we first came back here we spoke to three or four managers in this league to get a bit of an update on things and the one thing they all said was that we had the best centre-half in League 1. We turned up for the first day of pre-season and he's out injured for seven months!

"Any team without their best defender for the whole season is going to be a weakened side.

"He's got some important work to do before he's available for selection and we certainly won't be rushing him back if the physios say he's not ready, but he's one we're looking forward to having back."