Pelicans Announce Zion Williamson Update: "A Very Difficult Process"

 

Zion Williamson has been out all season, recovering from a broken bone in his foot suffered last summer. His possible return has been pushed back time and again, as he struggles with his rehab. Now the New Orleans Pelicans have announced that Zion will continue his rebah away from the team.

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is continuing his right foot rehabilitation in Portland, Ore., sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/dy9iT0EwH4

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 5, 2022

Williamson has been transferred to Portland, Oregon to continue his light non-basketball activities, though the organization says it is still "under supervision of the team." 

As part of the news release, the Pelicans statement read, “Since we notified everyone on December 16 of his latest imaging, it was decided then by our medical team to dial his rehab back to only partial weight bearing activities,” David Griffin, Pelicans executive vice president, said in the release. “He continues along that path.”

It was on that date in December that it was revealed that Williamson underwent a biologic injection in his foot, to hopefully aid in the bone healing process. 

Zion himself is quoted in the team release:

As you can imagine, this has been a very difficult process for me. 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.

In the meantime, he is doing only partial weight-bearing exercises, nothing basketball related. There is still no timeline for his possible return. 

The 21-year-old averaged 27 points per game last season, but has been limited due to various injuries in his 2+ year career, playing in only 85 of a possible 182 games.

Photo Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports