Zion Williamson will be day-to-day despite exiting the New Orleans Pelicans' 120-103 preseason loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday early with left ankle soreness.

The 2019 NBA Draft top overall pick missed all of last season with a foot injury, meaning there was concern with his departure with 6:42 left in the second quarter against the Heat after rolling his ankle entering the lane.

But Williamson and Pelicans head coach Willie Green both clarified that the decision was precautionary.

Green said: "He's doing fine. Looks like, I think, he might have rolled his ankle a little bit. He’ll be day to day."

Williamson had 11 points on three-of-seven shooting until that point, having spent a few more minutes on court trying to play through pain.

"It was one of those things where it happened and I popped back up, like, 'Yeah, I'm straight,'" Williamson said.

"Played a few minutes after that, it felt fine. Then they sent me to the back just to double check. We wanted to look at it, had a doc look at it, and he just said a little day-to-day soreness. And, but outside of that, I personally feel fine. Wasn't bad news from the docs."

Williamson averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the 2020-21 season, where he became an All-Star, having played only 24 games in his rookie season.

The Pels have one more preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, before starting their NBA campaign against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.