Zion Williamson Injury Update: Will The Blue Devils Forward Return Against Hokies?

Zion Williamson was listed as day-to-day after being diagnosed with a grade 1 right knee sprain after he went down just 33 seconds into the Duke Blue Devils’ game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. But the small forward remains uncertain for their game against Virginia Tech on Tuesday with the coach not ready to rush his return.

The 18-year-old is the top basketball prospect in the United States and there was a collective gasp when he went down injured in the game against the University of North Carolina when his Nike’s exploded just 33 seconds into the game. It was a game that was televised nationally and had former President Barack Obama in attendance.

The Blue Devils went on to lose the game against the Tar Heels 88-72, but returned to winning ways when they defeated Syracuse 75-65 on Saturday. Williamson sat out the game at the Carrier Dome owing to the injury and according to Sporting News, he remains uncertain for the game against Virginia on Tuesday.

The small forward is averaging 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting at 68.3 percent from the field. Williamson is expected to be selected with the No.1 pick at the 2019 Draft with many claiming that the New York Knicks will land the No.1 pick later in the year.

The injury last week prompted many to suggest Williamson should shut down his college basketball career and focus on being a professional. But Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski made it clear the team has no intention of shutting down Williamson as they are only waiting for him to return to full fitness before pencilling him back into the playing squad.

"We would never play a kid who's not ready," Krzyzewski said, as quoted on ESPN. "We would never play a youngster who didn't want to play. It's not about that. He wants to play. He loves being at Duke. He doesn't like being injured. It's an injury you can get over in a shorter period of time. There's just a protocol that we have to go through to make sure he's completely ready. We're not rushing anything, so that's why we said day-to-day because it's literally day-to-day."

Blue Devils guard Tre Jones revealed the player was in good spirits despite the injury and echoed his coach’s comments when he said the player’s health comes before everything else. And forward RJ Barrett admitted that all the players stepped up and embraced the added responsibility they had in the absence of Williamson.

"He's in good spirits and everything," Jones said talking about Williamson’s injury setback. "There's no rush on whatever is best for him. Make sure his health comes first before everything."

"I think everybody had more responsibility. He's a big part of our team and everybody had to step up today. And that's what he did. It's day-to-day. If he's healthy, we hope to have him back. If not, we'll keep going,” Barrett added.