Whenever New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is cleared to play, he will be playing “very limited minutes” at first.

Williamson underwent surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in October:

“He's making progress,” Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said of Zion Williamson, via Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “He's practicing. He's playing 5-on-5. We're trying to gauge exactly when it would be a good situation to put him out there. Even when we do, it'll be very limited minutes to start.”

The meniscus surgery Williamson underwent is unknown, although most experts believe it was a meniscectomy rather than a true repair since the initial estimated timeline of recovery was six-to-eight weeks.

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In his lone season at Duke, Williamson put on an absolute show. The forward averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 64.0 percent from the free-throw line.

The Pelicans are 14-25 on the season. Williamson is the new face of the Pelicans in the post-Anthony Davis era. Zion’s knee surgery wasn’t how anyone in New Orleans wanted to see his NBA career begin. However, his health is very important and everyone in The Big Easy just wants Williamson to be healthy for the long haul

Williamson has focused on refining his eating habits during his rehab. Throughout the season, Alvin Gentry and VP David Griffin have said that Williamson hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his rehab.

The Pelicans have fully anticipated that Williamson would play this season and it looks like New Orleans fans are close to seeing Zion play again.