O’Hora could return to Dons action this season after foot surgery

There is a window of opportunity for Warren O’Hora to potentially line up for MK Dons before the season is over.

The 23-year-old has been sidelined with a broken foot since the middle of January but has recently returned to light training with the first-team, taking part in warm-ups with the group once more.

After the initial diagnosis and subsequent surgery required on his foot, head coach Mark Jackson predicted the Irishman would sit out for the remainder of the campaign but after showing signs of a faster recovery than anticipated, there is a chance O’Hora could be back on the pitch this term.

However, with defensive options now available to Jackson, thanks to the returns of both Anthony Stewart and Dean Lewington from hamstring issues, and the return of Zak Jules from suspension, O’Hora will not be rushed into making a premature comeback.

“We're putting no pressure on him, but there will be a window where he will be back training fully with the squad,” said Jackson. “Whether he can be doing that without any risk is yet to be seen.

“He’s back on the pitch and back doing grass work which is really good to see. Even if it’s just in warm-ups, it’s good because he’s a leader and can help influence the group. We’ll wait for him to have another scan before we can confirm any sort of timeline. Once he comes through that, we can assess again and step his work up.

“If we find ourselves in that position though, he will be a vital member an option to have, but there will be no pressure to push him. He's pushing himself, he looks in great physical shape, he's been working really hard in the gym and he's giving himself every opportunity where he could potentially be available.

“It's a good position for us to be in. We don't want to rush anyone, but he had to do it a little bit with Skip, albeit a calculated risk. But it's a credit to the players who do everything they can to be strong, do all the rehab to go straight into games, last and look strong.”

Kaikai unavailable for Easter fixtures

After picking up an injury on international duty with Sierra Leone, Sullay Kaikai looks set to miss out on Dons’ fixtures over the Easter weekend against Portsmouth and Derby County.

Kaikai, who scored the winner against Accrington Stanley before departing to join up with the Leone Stars last month, wasn’t able to play against his former club Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday after returning with the muscle strain, and Jackson confirmed the 27-year-old is set to miss the upcoming games as well.

He added: “He’s got a slight strain, and we’re not really sure when he picked it up. He’ll be missing for the next couple of games, but he’s progressing well.

“He didn’t realise the injury straight away, so we have to be careful with it, but he will definitely will miss the games over the weekend.”