New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in full team activities, the team announced on Friday evening.
Williamson, who is recovering from a fractured right foot, had his latest set of scans on Wednesday. They were evaluated by Pelicans team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Montgomery and by Dr. Richard Ferkel, a surgeon who has worked on NBA players in the past.
"It's been a long road to get him to this point," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "Anyone that's ever dealt with any type of injury like that, it's hard to come back from. It's hard mentally. He's done a great job pushing through. Z has an opportunity now to be a full go in practices, and we'll have a practice soon. Hopefully that'll add some juice to our team. He's a huge part of what we do there."
The Pelicans said Williamson went through 4-on-4, full-court work on Friday while the team is in Utah for a back-to-back. New Orleans plays Utah on Friday and Saturday before heading to Los Angeles to play the Clippers on Monday. The team will travel back to New Orleans on Tuesday and then play the Dallas Mavericks the following day.
Because of the team's schedule, it's likely the Pelicans won't have a full practice for Williamson to participate in until Thursday.
In a news release, New Orleans said it has yet to determine when Williamson will return to game action.
"It's more about how he responds to practices," Green said. "How he responds to the physicality of playing against his teammates. How he responds to getting up and down. Just giving a timeline is tough on that. We want him back as soon as possible. But it's all predicated on how he feels after workouts, and the medical team will work diligently with him and we'll go from there."
Williamson has yet to play in a game this season because of the fractured foot. In his absence, the Pelicans have gotten off to a 4-16 start.
