Is Zion Williamson playing tonight, January 11th? (Updated)

The New Orleans Pelicans are back in action tonight, taking a road trip up to TD Garden for a showdown against the Boston Celtics.

Pelicans fans have one question on their mind, however, and it has nothing to do with who is going to win the game. Well, it has a little bit to do with that because the question of whether the Pels can pull off an upset win depends partially on whether or not Zion Williamson is playing tonight.

Zion Williamson injury update (Updated January 11th)

Note: This will be updated closer to tip-off at 7:30 pm ET with the official word on Zion Williamson’s injury status. 

Unfortunately, it looks like Zion won’t be available for the Pelicans big game in Boston. All hope is not lost, however, for an earlier-than-expected return for the big man.

Williamson injured his right hamstring at the beginning of the year, straining it in a 120-111 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on January 2nd.

The initial diagnosis was that Williamson would be out for at least three weeks, but fans are still holding out hope that he could return before then. Punctuating the loss of Williamson is the fact that Brandon Ingram is sidelined as well with a toe injury that appears to be a lot more daunting than the hamstring strain suffered by Williamson.

Ingram’s injury, however, is likely causing some anxiety among fans in New Orleans as it pertains to when Williamson will return to action. Zion has a history of struggling with injuries and missing time, so there’s a natural fear there but the fact that Ingram has been out since November and it’s unclear when he’ll return is an uneasy feeling.

Barring some sort of setback, all signs point to Williamson returning to the Pelicans within the three-week timeline that has been laid out. But no one will blame Pelicans fans for believing it when they see it given all they’ve been through with Zion’s history and injuries this season.

That being said, despite the speedbumps, New Orleans enters its matchup with Boston sitting in third out West and have a chance to steal a signature win against the best team in the NBA without two of its best players.