Chicago Bulls swingman Denzel Valentine will not be making his season debut anytime soon. The 24-year-old's injured ankle is reportedly not responding well, and Bulls team president John Paxson has just confirmed that the 6-foot-6 guard/forward will be out indefinitely.

Denzel Valentine tweaked his ankle back in September during training camp, and he was initially expected to miss only a couple of weeks of action. However, it has now been over a month, and still, the Michigan State University product does not appear to be closing in on a return date.

This is a blow for Valentine, who is surely itching to make his first appearance of the season. What makes this injury more concerning is the fact that the team is unable to provide a specific timetable for his recovery. This leads us to believe that this is definitely more than just a minor setback.

After a breakout season last term (10.2 points, 1.9 3-pointers, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.8 steals in 27.2 minutes per game), the third-year man was expected to play a crucial part in the team's rotation. The good news is that it's still way too early in the season, and Valentine still has a lot of time to make an impact this year.

The Bulls exercised the 2019-20 season team option on Valentine's rookie-scale deal in October. This means that the team has committed to him for at least two more seasons (including this one). This takes off a significant amount of pressure on him, which should allow him to focus more on his recovery.