James Borrego Provides the Latest Injury Update on Pelicans' Dejounte Murray

The New Orleans Pelicans are not getting Dejounte Murray back any time soon.

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Dejounte Murray has yet to make his season debut for the New Orleans Pelicans. After rupturing his Achilles tendon in January 2025, Murray has been working to get back over the last 11 months. Earlier in the season, the timeline for his return was set for this month, but updates have been few and far between since then. On Sunday, interim head coach James Borrego finally provided an update, and it's not a very optimistic one.

Pelicans' Dejounte Murray Is Nowhere Near a Return

Before the Pelicans' loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, Borrego answered questions about the former All-Star guard's recovery. Per Rod Walker of NOLA.com, Borrego said that Murray was making a lot of progress, but the team needs more time to "have a little bit more clarity on where he's at." The interim HC added that the team is trying to get him back in the building "soon".

The real concerning remark came when Borrego was asked whether he expects Murray to play this season. He responded with, "I can't say for sure. I can't go there. We just don't know until we see him live on the court."

He’s making a lot of progress. We hope to get him back in our building here soon. He’s doing a lot of work getting ready to get back here. I say in the next month we’ll have a little bit more clarity on where he’s at. But he’s made a lot of progress. Significant progress.

Pelicans HC James Borrego

While Borrego added that the goal is to have Murray back this season, he said the team will have to evaluate him when he is back on the court and will make a collective decision.

That is a disappointing development for the Pelicans. It sounds like there is a very real chance that Murray will not play at all this season. Whether or not he suffered a setback is unclear, but the fact that he is still not participating in practice with the team is worrisome. At this point, it's safe to assume that the January return will almost certainly not going to happen.

Especially now that the Pelicans are 8-29 for the season, there is very little incentive to rush Murray back. The only reason to do so would be to showcase him before the February 5 trade deadline to increase his value, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards.

The odds of the Pelicans keeping Murray shelved until the 2026-27 season have increased dramatically after Borrego's statements on Sunday. Things could change depending on how the veteran guard looks upon returning to the building, but Pelicans fans shouldn't be holding their breath until seeing Murray back in action.