Pelicans announce Zion Williamson will continue his rehab ‘away from the team’

The New Orleans Pelicans have announced that injured power forward Zion Williamson will continue rehabilitating his foot “away from the team.”

In December, Pelicans fans awaited for the return of Zion Williamson before receiving a depressing update: Williamson’s foot injury actually regressed, and it would be much longer until he was able to return to the court for games.

While it’s still uncertain when Williamson will return, Jan. 5 presented a new update on the power forward’s rehab process. The Pelicans announced that Williamson will be continuing his rehab “away from the team” while he remains supervised by the Pelicans medical staff.

Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin spoke on the Pelican’s thought process as they closely monitor the progress of Williamson’s foot injury.

“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,” Griffin said. He continues along that path. We also agreed that in order to put Zion in the best position to succeed, he will rehab away from the team at this time so he can focus on the task at hand.”

Pelicans decide Zion Williamson will continue rehab ‘away from team’

As much as it may have hurt Pelicans fans to see Williamson endure a setback in his return, the ordeal has been admittedly difficult for Williamson himself.

“As you can imagine, this has been a very difficult process for me,” said Williamson. “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.”

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Williamson will be completing his rehab in Portland, Oregon.

When the Pelicans notified everyone of the status of Williamson’s injury, he received an injection in his right foot to “help with the bone-healing process“, according to ESPN.

Aside from his location and his limited weight-bearing activities, little is known about the status of Williamson’s injury and his return, but fans now know that the team is monitoring the situation and putting him in a position to succeed.

Without Williamson, the Pelicans rank 14th in the Western Conference with a 13-25 record.