It looks like the New Orleans Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson for the start of the 2019-20 season.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft is "expected to miss period of weeks" due to a right knee injury. He is therefore unlikely to play on opening night, when the Toronto Raptors host the Pelicans.
The good news for the Pelicans is that a severe injury has reportedly been ruled out for Williamson. The franchise is said to be treating the injury with "an abundance of caution."
A severe injury has been ruled out for Zion Williamson’s right knee, but he is expected to miss period of weeks to start regular season, league sources tell ESPN. Pels are clearly treating injury with an abundance of caution but there’s no shortage of confidence on full recovery.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 18, 2019
Williamson appeared in four preseason games with the Pelicans. He proved why he's the runaway favourite to win Rookie of the Year in those contests with averages of 23.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 71.4 percent shooting from the field.
It made for one of the most dominant preseasons the NBA has ever seen from a rookie.
Williamson missed five games in his one and only collegiate season at Duke with a Grade 1 knee injury after his foot ripped through his shoe. He returned in time for the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, leading Duke to an ACC tournament title and Elite Eight appearance.
According to NBC's Tom Haberstroh, Williamson's current injury is in the same knee as the one he injured at Duke.