Charlotte Hornets got great news on Cody Zeller, but another starter tweaked an ankle

Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller has been cleared for full-contact practice, roughly a month removed from breaking his left hand.

Zeller was part of the Hornets’ live scrimmage Wednesday, coach James Borrego said. Zeller’s timeline for clearance to play has been early February, after he had surgery on his hand Christmas Eve in New York City.

It’s not yet known whether Zeller scrimmaging Wednesday might indicate him playing sooner than early next month. But he appeared to retain conditioning well during the month away, according to teammate P.J. Washington.

“Cody looked good out there. He definitely looked like he was in shape and was rebounding the ball, and scoring the ball pretty good and playing defense,” said Washington, a power forward who has played lots of center in Zeller’s absence.

“It’s always good to have a 7-footer doing those things out there.”

Washington sat out Wednesday’s team scrimmage with a sprained right ankle. The injury occurred in practice Tuesday. Washington said it’s minor and he’s not at all concerned about playing Friday against the Chicago Bulls.

Zeller broke his left hand in the second half of the season-opening loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That moved Bismack Biyombo into the starting unit at center, where he’s averaging 27 minutes — by far his most playing time in nine seasons.

Zeller’s absence also increased the need for small-ball, with Washington at center and Miles Bridges at power forward.

The Hornets have played a lot of zone defense this season, in part to keep their big men closer to the rim. The Hornets continue to struggle rebounding; they are last in the NBA in defensive-rebounding percentage.