The New Orleans Pelicans are patiently awaiting the return of Zion Williamson to the court. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft has yet to suit up this season as he recovers from surgery on his foot.
Now, the team will have to wait a little longer for him to come back.
Williamson has experienced some soreness in his surgically repaired foot and the team has decided to scale back his activity. Williamson was set to take part in his first full practice on Thursday, but that will now be delayed as the team hopes the soreness that he has felt for a few days subsides.
This has been a frustrating process for the entire organization. There was some optimism that Williamson would be ready when the season began, but are now in December and he has yet to make his season debut.
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While the team does not believe this is an issue that will persist, they are going to show an abundance of caution. They do not believe there is a new injury or that the foot was re-injured but are going to have him dial things back for a few days.
“It’s a part of the process,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “When you’re dealing with injuries and you ramp up some, there’s a possibility you can deal with a little bit of soreness which he’s dealing with now.”
Williamson underwent scans on his foot on November 24th and everything came back clean, which is when he began ramping up his rehab. He had been taking part in 4-on-4 full-court work, but will now go back to low impact workouts with hopes that the soreness will go away.
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Green said the organization is optimistic in that regard and that they will be able to get back to work in a few days getting Williamson ready to return to the court. It is a situation that Williamson is frustrated by, but understands that patience needs to be shown.
“It’s more important to be patient,” Green said. “We’re talking about somebody’s career. Anytime you’re dealing with that aspect of professional sports, that is important to remember. That’s how we’re looking at this. It’s being diligent about getting him back on the floor. And that’s a part of what we’re dealing with right now.”
At this point in time, there is no harm in waiting. The New Orleans Pelicans are 6-18 on the season, already 5.5 games behind a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Risking another injury by having him come back before he is 100 percent healthy would be a short-sighted decision as the 2021-22 season could very well already be over for the Pelicans.
