Pelicans' Zion Williamson Expected to Undergo Scans on Foot Injury This Week

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will undergo scans on his right foot this week to determine the next step in his recovery.

Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin told ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth that the team is waiting for the bone to heal properly.

Williamson suffered a broken foot over the summer and is yet to have a timetable for his return to game action. He is yet to participate in any basketball activities and has only been running in straight lines.

“You can see he is progressing and doing more and more on the floor,” Pelicans coach Willie Green told reporters Wednesday. “Once he has his latest round of scans, then we’ll have a clearer picture of where we go from here. But he’s getting better, he’s progressing, he’s on the floor now, running, doing a lot more. We’ll have an update soon.”

Williamson has been spectacular when he healthy, coming off a 2020-21 campaign that saw him average 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to earn his first All-Star berth.

Staying healthy has been the main issue. Williamson missed 58 games during his rookie season with a knee injury and management, and he sat out 11 contests in 2020-21. By he time Williamson returns, it's almost certain he will have missed a full NBA season less than three years into his NBA career.

Concern about Williamson's body type and whether it would withstand the rigors of a full NBA season was perhaps the only knock on him coming out of college.

The Pelicans are determined to have Williamson at 100 percent when he returns and have made it publicly known they are working with him and his management on the best course to get him back on the floor.

Griffin entered the 2021-22 campaign on the hot seat, with the young Pelicans failing to make the strides most expected last season, leading to the one-and-done tenure of Stan Van Gundy. Green is the third coach of Griffin's tenure, and he'll likely be the last if the team does not start having more success.

The Pelicans have gotten off to a 1-3 start with Williamson out of the lineup.