Zion Williamson is seemingly on the verge of a comeback.
The Pelicans introduced 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 anticipated to return to full observe 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 harm. The Duke alum missed 53 video games with a hamstring pressure within the 2022-23 season and handled an identical season-ending harm throughout final 12 months’s playoffs. That is exactly why the Pelicans have 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 doable 406 video games by way of his first 5 seasons, together with all 82 in 2021-22.
As for the Pelicans, Williamson’s absence is simply 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 lacking a bit of video games already. Their healthiest starter has been rookie Yves Missi, who has missed solely one of many 30 video games to date.
New Orleans entered the season with numerous expectations after profitable video games final 12 months. Many felt the Pelicans have 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.
