Zion Williamson is seemingly on the verge of a comeback.
The Pelicans announced Tuesday that Williamson, out of motion since Nov. 6 with a left hamstring pressure, has “begun the return to play conditioning part of his rehabilitation program and is predicted to return to full follow subsequent week.”
It was additional famous that Williamson is “week-to-week” in his return.
When Williamson suffered the hamstring pressure, the expectation was for him to overlook an prolonged interval attributable to his historical past with the identical damage. The Duke alum missed 53 video games with a hamstring pressure within the 2022-23 season and handled the same season-ending damage throughout final yr’s playoffs. That is exactly why the Pelicans had been non-committal to a timeline for Williamson’s return, saying that he was “out indefinitely” when he started rehab in early November.
Williamson, 24, has been largely injury-prone in his younger NBA profession. He missed 216 of a attainable 406 video games by his first 5 seasons, together with all 82 in 2021-22.
As for the Pelicans, Williamson’s absence is barely part of their downside this season. The franchise has been ravaged by accidents, with Williamson (24), Brandon Ingram (12), CJ McCollum (13), Trey Murphy III (13), Dejounte Murray (17), Herbert Jones (18) and Jose Alvarado (19) all missing a chunk of games already. Their healthiest starter has been rookie Yves Missi, who has missed solely one of many 30 video games to this point.
New Orleans entered the season with quite a lot of expectations after profitable video games final yr. Many felt the Pelicans had been primed to take a step towards contender standing, particularly after they traded for Murray this previous offseason. Nevertheless, the 5-25 Pelicans appear destined to overlook the playoffs.
