SPORT NEWS: Zion, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, and Alvarado Injury Updates Released by Pelicans.giang

The New Orleans Pelicans’ season has not gone the way they hoped it would in part because of injuries, and they provided multiple updates Tuesday.

New Orleans announced Zion Williamson is considered week-to-week with a left hamstring strain even though he “has begun the return to play conditioning phase of his rehabilitation program and is expected to return to full practice next week.”

Here are the other updates:

• “Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain) remains in the early treatment and recovery phase of his rehabilitation program. He will be re-examined in approximately two weeks his status will be updated as appropriate.”
• “Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain) has begun the return to play conditioning phase of his rehabilitation program and is expected to return to full practice next week. He will be week-to-week going forward.”
• “Trey Murphy III, who sustained a left ankle injury during Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, has been diagnosed with a mild left ankle sprain. His status is considered day-to-day going forward.”
• “Karlo Matković (low back disc protrusion) has progressed to the return to play conditioning phase of his rehabilitation program. He will be week-to-week going forward.”

Williamson is the biggest name and has been out since early November with a left hamstring strain. He has played just six games this year.

The injury concerns have come after Williamson had one of the best seasons of his career both from a health perspective and a performance perspective in 2023-24. He played a career-high 70 games, averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and five assists. With Williamson on the court for most of the year, New Orleans posted its best record since 2009, going 49-33.

The Pelicans made the postseason via the play-in tournament but were without their star after he suffered an injury in their play-in game against the Lakers. They fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in four games.

With no Williamson, New Orleans has started the year 5-25. Ingram has also played just 18 games, while Murphy has appeared in 17 contests. Alvarado has played 11 games, further underscoring the overall injury issues on the roster.