North Melbourne defender Ed Vickers-Willis has set a likely return date, as he recovers from a ruptured ACL.

Vickers-Willis suffered the left knee injury in the round one loss to Fremantle last season. 

“Full training is about six to eight weeks away, so we're looking at mid to late April,” he said.

“We have a really conservative plan in place so I can play footy for the rest of the year. 

“I’m doing lots of training now and if you watch me out on the track it looks like I’m pretty close.”

Vickers-Willis underwent additional minor clean-up surgery in November.

“This one was pretty minor and this time it’s been really good,” he said.

“The knee is responding well to higher loads and it’s been lots of smooth sailing which is lucky.”

Vickers-Willis must successfully complete a full training load for six weeks before he is considered ready for senior selection.

“We’ve got time, so they can expose me to everything that I’m going to be exposed to at AFL and VFL level,” he said.

“I’ve got full confidence in the physios and we have really good fitness staff here … I have some really great support around me.

“I’ll be back looking to play towards the end of May … really fit, strong and confident that my body will hold up.”