Zion Williamson Pictured at Pelicans Practice After Joining Team in Foot Injury Rehab

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson attended the team's practice Friday.

Williamson has yet to make his season debut while he recovers from a lingering foot injury. ESPN's Andrew Lopez reported on March 5 that he was expected to rejoin the team after rehabbing in Portland.

Given what he represents to the Pelicans, the continued absence of the 21-year-old would be a major story on its own. He was limited to 24 games as a rookie in 2019-20, and time is quickly running out for him to take the floor this season. New Orleans has 16 games left on the schedule.

Williamson's relationship with the organization has also been the subject of speculation in recent weeks.

In February, NOLA.com's Christian Clark reported on some of the internal turmoil in New Orleans. That report came after former Pelicans guard JJ Redick described Zion as a "detached teammate" and criticized Williamson's failure to reach out to midseason acquisition CJ McCollum:

Even though his participation was limited, Williamson's presence at practice was a welcome sight.

"It’s good for him," Devonte’ Graham said, per Clark. "I know he missed being here. Just being around your family, your brothers. It was a warm welcome when he came back. Just want to see him healthy. That’s all."

Still, the question remains whether he'll actually get the green light to play as the Pels make their final playoff push. At 27-39, New Orleans is 10th in the Western Conference and has a 1.5-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers for the final play-in spot.

When fans last saw him play, Williamson averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. While accounting for all of the time he has missed, getting 70 or 80 percent of that player would make a big difference for the Pelicans toward securing at least a play-in bid.