New Orleans Pelicans general manager David Griffin said Thursday that Zion Williamson will miss at least the first week of the regular season, and there’s currently no timetable for the star forward to return following foot surgery.
Williamson fractured the fifth metacarpal bone in his right foot during the offseason and required surgery. Doctors took scans of Williamson’s healing foot Wednesday to track his progress.
The Pelicans only revealed Williamson’s status in late September, with Griffin saying at the time that “his timeline should get him back on the court in time for regular season — that would be our hope and our view.”
“There is no fixed timeline for his return to game action, but the doctors are encouraged by this last batch of images,” Griffin told reporters Thursday. “Doctors will take additional imaging 2 to 2 1/2 weeks from now as guides and landmarks for taking the next steps.”
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Zion Williamson injury and impact on the New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans is coming off a controversial off-season that saw it lose star guard Lonzo Ball in free agency, only to replace him with a lesser Devonte’ Graham. This comes off another disappointing season in which the Pelicans finished with a 31-41 record and fired head coach Stan Van Gundy after just one year.
The hope in New Orleans is that Williamson can somehow return at some point in November and join a group headlined by All-Star Brandon Ingram as well as new additions Trey Murphy and Jonas Valanciunas.
The No. 1 overall pick of the Pelicans back in 2019, Zion Williamson is averaging 25.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on a resounding 61% shooting from the field. Unfortunately, he’s played in only 85 games (all starts) during this span due to both injuries and the truncated 2019-20 season.
(Field Level Media contributed to this report)