When can Zion Williamson return? A tentative timeline of recovery for the "star-to-be"
As the 2021-22 NBA season continues to march on, basketball fans across the world await the return of New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson. As exciting as the NBA has been during the opening week of action, it seems as if there's something missing. There's no doubt that Zion Williamson has become one of the top exciting young stars in the entire NBA. When Williamson returns to the court, all eyes will be focused on what the 21-year-old can do during his third year in the NBA.
When it comes to a potential return date, all we know is that the New Orleans Pelicans haven't given us a specific target at a possible return. It would seem likely that we would receive an update from the organization this week, although there's no guarantee that will happen. Our latest "official" update came from Pelicans GM David Griffin on October 14th, stating that Zion will be re-evaluated in around two weeks.
David Griffin says Zion Williamson said surgeons reviewed scans and he is cleared for the next step.
“No fixed timeline”for return to game action. Next scans will be 2-2.5 weeks.
Zion will not be on the floor for the first week of games.
Whenever an organization throws around a "no fixed timeline" comment, it's usually going to be on the longer side of any potential expected timeline. If by any chance the Pelicans are locked in on that specific timeline of around two weeks. Then it would seem as if early November could be the quickest turnaround to get Zion Williamson back on the court.
The problem with this situation isn't just the fact that Zion has been out while recovering from a surgical procedure. That's the specific type of injury he is going to be coming back from. Zion Williamson had surgery for a fractured right foot this offseason, and he unfortunately hasn't been able to run on it for an extended amount of time. It was reported earlier that Zion suffered the injury during an offseason workout.
Griffin says Zion's injury occurred prior to summer league while working out. Said the rehab has been done in lockstep with the organization and they are happy with where this is at
For a player with such a rare combination of lower-body power and explosiveness, this is something the New Orleans Pelicans don't want to risk. It also doesn't help that there has been some buzz that Williamson has gained some weight throughout the offseason. For a player who has had a history with weight gain, Williamson has been dealing with an injury that prevents his ability to work on his conditioning. The Pelicans are going to want to stress caution, as it's going to take some time for him to get back into basketball shape, especially as he recovers from a lower-body injury. New Orleans is in no position to rush the talented 21-year-old back, as they want to get him as healthy as possible and prevent any further setbacks. Once Zion takes the floor, which hopefully will be sometime in the month of November, all eyes around the basketball world will be glued to the television to see what he can do.
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