Is Zion Williamson playing tonight? Latest injury update for Pelicans vs. Nuggets, January 24th

New Orleans Pelicans fans continue to check the calendar to see when the three-week re-evaluation period for Zion Williamson will arrive.

So far, that hasn’t happened.

Something could be happening soon, however, as it’s been officially three weeks since Zion was sidelined with a right hamstring strain. A return to action could be nearing, and it couldn’t come at a better time for New Orleans. Since losing Zion to that hamstring injury in a 120-111 loss to the 76ers, the Pelicans are 3-7 and in danger of falling back in the Western Conference playoff race.

Right now New Orleans holds the No. 4 seed but has the Mavericks and Clippers well within striking distance. Making matters more stressful, only four games separate the Pelicans from being in the playoffs to being on the wrong side of the Play-In Tournament.

Zion Williamson injury status for tonight’s game against the Nuggets

Unless something dramatic changes, Zion Williamson is not expected to be in action tonight against the Nuggets. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as there has been zero indication that the team is ready to put him back in the lineup.

That’s bad news for a Pels team that has struggled mightily over the last handful of games without its two biggest stars. Brandon Ingram remains sidelined with a toe injury that has kept him out of action since November.

For what it’s worth, New Orleans is 25-20 without both Ingram and Zion in the lineup, but treading water can only last for so long.

Zion Williamson injury history

One of the threads of the fabric of Zion’s story in the NBA has been his struggle with injuries. It seemed like he was finally about to turn the corner and finally play a healthy stretch, which makes his hamstring injury even more frustrating.

Here’s a quick rundown of the most recent injuries Zion has battled through which have caused him to pop up on the Pelicans injury report:

• 12/26/22 – Reconditioning
• 12/21/22 – Health and Safety Protocol
• 11/14/22 – Foot
• 10/23/2 – Hip
• 9/27/21 – Foot

When is Zion Williamson coming back?

We’re getting close to the point where Zion will be re-evaluated, but he’s still not ready to return. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi reported that the expectation was for Zion to miss at least a month when he injured his hamstring, indicating that it’s not a ‘mild’ injury.

Upon injuring his hamstring, there was hope that Zion would only miss three weeks of action, which would have put him a little under that month-long timeline mentioned by Woj. Unfortunately, New Orleans has been mum on updates about when a re-evaluation of Zion’s hamstring is going to happen.

Based on the initial timelines, though, something should be happening soon. For the Pelicans sake, let’s hope it does.

New Orleans Pelicans next 5 opponents

Here are what the next five games for the Pelicans look like, which the team may have to play without Zion Williamson in the lineup.

• vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – Wednesday, 1/25  at 8 pm ET
• vs. Washington Wizards – Saturday, 1/28 at 8 pm ET
• at Milwaukee Bucks – Sunday, 1/29 at 8 pm ET
• at Denver Nuggets – Tuesday, 1/31 at 10 pm ET
• at Dallas Mavericks – Thursday, 2/2 at 8:30 pm ET