Pelicans star Zion Williamson injured: how long will he be out?

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson will be reevaluated in three weeks’ time after he suffered an injury to his right hamstring during Monday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced Tuesday.

Late in the third quarter of Monday’s game, Williamson grabbed a defensive rebound and began pushing the ball in transition, before pulling up sharply as he crossed mid-court, holding his hamstring. He was assessed in the locker room by the team’s medical staff and did not return to the game, after having completed 28 minutes.

Ingram set to return

Imaging on Tuesday revealed a strain that will keep him off the floor until late this month at the earliest. Williamson’s absence will be a blow to a New Orleans club that has been without co-star Brandon Ingram since 25 November 25 because of a toe injury. Despite Ingram’s injury, the Pelicans began Tuesday with the third-best record in the Western Conference at 23-14. Ingram has begun doing individual shooting drills and appears nearing a return, but C.J. McCollum will likely be asked to carry the offensive load in the meantime.

Larry Nance Jr. would be the most obvious candidate to step into Williamson’s forward spot in the starting lineup, but he has played in just two of the past eight games due to a neck contusion and soreness in his right Achilles tendon. Third-year forward Naji Marshall may fill that role until Nance can return.

Dominant when on the court, Williamson has had his young pro career marred – and perhaps defined – by a series of injuries that have kept him on the sidelines. Since being drafted first overall in 2019, Williamson has played just 114 games, and he missed all of last season with a fractured right foot. Until his latest hamstring setback, he has averaged 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season in 29 games.