NEW ORLEANS, La. – It has been 10 months since former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson stepped on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans. A prolonged right foot injury has put a monkey wrench in New Orleans’ plans to reach the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Williamson, to the misfortune of New Orleans, broke his foot during offseason training, marking his third major injury in just three seasons. Meanwhile, while the injury may have forced the young star to spend time away from the game, he’s also chosen to spend time away from the organization to focus on his rehab as well.
This distance, paired with continued complications, has begun to spark questions over the past few weeks. Christian Clark, of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, reported that Williamson may need a second surgery, really opening up the question of when Zion will officially return.
However, the most recent reports recently revealed that this would not be the case. In fact, Williamson is expected to finally be rejoining the team in the next week, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez.
According to Lopez, the 2019 No. 1 draft pick has spent the past two months with his inner circle in Portland, Oregon as he recovers from fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his foot.
“As you can imagine, this has been a very difficult process for me,” Williamson said ahead of the move. “I know there’s work to be done in my recovery before I can safely return to the court, but I will continue to put in the time necessary so I can get back on the floor with my team and represent Pelicans fans and the city of New Orleans at the highest level.”
With speculation surrounding Williamson’s desire to remain in New Orleans long term, his sentiments must have come much to the delight of Pelicans fans and the organization. However, it still seems that with each positive report regarding Williamson’s recovery, reports of a setback soon follow.
After the recently passed trade deadline, Pelicans Vice President David Griffin addressed the media about Williamson, saying that he didn’t have enough information to know when Williamson could return to action.
New Orleans’ young star has played a total of 85 games through the first three seasons of his young career. He’s in jeopardy of missing a full season for the first time, and if that holds true, he will have missed more than 62 percent of his games since entering the league.
On the plus side, it shows how careful New Orleans has been with its prized superstar. Plus, if fans need any motivation for optimism, they can look to MVP candidate Joel Embiid, who missed the entirety of his first two seasons due to a right-foot fracture of his own before blossoming into one of the best players in the league.
Despite the lack of a timetable for Williamson’s return, there’s currently a light at the end of the tunnel that’s led him back to New Orleans.
