Zion Williamson is outwardly 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 section of his rehabilitation program and is predicted to return to full apply 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 because of 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 an identical 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, asserting 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 doable 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 drawback 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 a whole 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. Nonetheless, the 5-25 Pelicans appear destined to overlook the playoffs.
