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Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson suffered a broken right foot during the summer but should be available for the regular season, New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said on Monday.
During his remarks at media day, Griffin said Williamson injured the foot during workouts around Summer League and underwent surgery in the summer to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Griffin said himself, general manager Trajan Langdon and Pelicans head trainer and VP of player care and performance Aaron Nelson met with Williamson and his parents to establish a timeline to return to play.
Because of the injury, Griffin said Williamson was not with the team in Nashville during the last two weeks while players got together there for informal workouts. He said head strength and conditioning coach Stan Williams has been with him throughout the process.
Also, Griffin added that Williamson’s rehab has been “in lockstep” with the organization.
While Griffin didn’t think it was “terribly likely” that Williamson plays during the preseason, he expects Williamson to ramp up during that time period so he can be ready for the regular season.
Williamson was limited to 24 games during his rookie season in 2019-20 and didn’t make his debut until January because of a knee injury that kept him out 13 weeks. Last season, Williamson’s 2020-21 season ended early because of a thumb injury as well.
Despite that, Williamson has averaged 25.7 points on 60.4 percent shooting in his first two seasons.
