Pelicans' Brandon Ingram making progress toward return

Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been cleared to begin individual on-court workouts as he recovers from a left knee bone contusion, according to a report from the team.

Ingram, who hasn’t played since March 21, had his condition reevaluated this morning, the Pelicans stated. He will gradually increase the intensity of his rehab work, but a firm timetable hasn’t been set for him to resume playing.

Ingram has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game at Phoenix and Tuesday’s contest at Portland, but nothing is definite beyond that. New Orleans will play Thursday at Sacramento and Friday at Golden State before ending the season at home against the Lakers on April 14.

Ingram was projected to miss at least two weeks when he was diagnosed with the injury, so his comeback is right about on schedule. He also hyperextended his knee in that March 21 game against Orlando and had to be helped to the locker room.

The Pelicans have fallen into play-in territory after dropping their last four games, so they need Ingram back as quickly as possible. He’s their second-leading scorer this season at 20.9 PPG while shooting 49% from the field and 35.6% from three-point range.