Zion out at least two more weeks as star recovers from hamstring injury

The New Orleans Pelicans are taking a cautious approach to Zion Williamson's hamstring injury and announced Tuesday that he will be re-evaluated in two more weeks.

It was framed as a positive update for the Pelicans' franchise star, who was initially ruled out for at least three weeks after suffering the injury on January 4.

Three weeks have passed, and New Orleans released the results of their recent re-evaluation on Twitter.

It read: "Update on Zion: he was recently re-evaluated for his right hamstring injury. The re-evaluation showed that his hamstring is healing as expected, and progressing well with his recovery.

"He will continue his rehabilitation process, which includes strengthening his hamstring and gradually progressing to more movement. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks."

That means it will be over a month between games for the top overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft, who has had his career marred by injuries up to this point.

He managed only 24 games in his rookie season, and after appearing back on track with a spectacular 2020-21 campaign where he played 61 games and earned an All-Star appearance, he then went on to miss the entire 2021-22 season.

So far, he has suited up for 29 of the Pelicans' 47 games. They have gone 17-12 in those 29 contests, while posting a 9-9 record in fixtures he has been unavailable for.

One of the most dominant offensive forces in the sport, Williamson is averaging 26.0 points per game while shooting 60.8 per cent from the field. Of all players this season averaging at least 20 points per game, reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic is the only other shooting at least 60 per cent (62.6).