When will Zion Williamson return to action for Duke?
Zion Williamson avoided a severe knee injury Wednesday night, so when might the star freshman forward return to action for Duke?
Most of the buzz attached to Wednesday night’s Duke-North Carolina game went away in the first minute when Blue Devils freshman forward Zion Williamson had a serious shoe malfunction and suffered a right knee injury.
Williamson has avoided a more substantial injury, as he was officially diagnosed with a Grade 1 knee sprain. He was officially listed as day-to-day, but a missed game or two felt certain and he is not expected to play Saturday night against Syracuse.
Leaving aside the prevalent idea Williamson should shut himself down for the season, and prepare to be the presumptive first overall pick in June’s NBA draft, the more immediate question is when might he return to action for Duke.
At 11-2 the Blue Devils are in a three-way tie for first place in the ACC with Virginia and North Carolina. So getting Williamson back in some form as the regular season winds down would be nice, especially with how the rest of the team looked in the first game against the Tar Heels after he went out.
According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Williamson may be back pretty quickly.
Duke’s Zion Williamson is not expected to play tomorrow against Syracuse, source told @Stadium. Source said he is up and moving around and sounded optimistic he’ll be back in the next week.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 22, 2019
After Saturday’s road game against Syracuse, Duke plays Virginia Tech next Tuesday (Feb. 26), then Miami at home (March 2), Wake Forest at home (March 5) and North Carolina on the road (March 9) to close out the regular season.
It’s a safe bet Williamson will miss the Virginia Tech game, and quite frankly they shouldn’t need him to beat Miami (11-14 this season, 3-8 in ACC play). A return for the rematch with North Carolina feels like a foregone conclusion, as Williamson will be 2-3 weeks removed from the injury. The ACC regular season title, and a fast track to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, may be on the line too.
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Outside of his own desire to return and play against the rival Tar Heels in the regular season finale, Williamson could return and play limited minutes against Wake Forest to knock some rust off. In any case, he should be back to full strength in plenty of time as the Blue Devils try to pay off a good season with a run to the Final Four in Minneapolis.