It may take a while before Lonzo Ball makes his much-awaited return for the Chicago Bulls following the meniscus tear he suffered in January 2022. After a lengthy rehab process following the left knee surgery he had in September, Ball could decide to go under the knife once more, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. If he does indeed undergo surgery, it would be his third in the past 14 months.

The Bulls made one of the shrewdest decisions of the 2021 offseason when they signed Ball to a four-year, $80 million deal. Adding a 3 and D playmaking point guard in Ball's mold to complement the likes of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan was exactly what the Bulls needed as they went off to a strong start last season.

In fact, the Bulls have a 22-13 record with Lonzo Ball on the court, a 62.8 winning percentage. In contrast, the Bulls went 24-23 last year without him (51 percent), and they have sub-.500 record (30-36) with the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White, and Alex Caruso holding the fort in his absence this season.

Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals a night in his 35 games with the Bulls last season; while his stats don't particularly jump off the page, it's his two-way impact and ideal complementary game alongside ball-dominant stars that made the Bulls click as well as they did with him around.

Lonzo Ball has not played for the Bulls since January 14, 2022, clouding his future with much doubt. While the usual timeline for recovery from a meniscus tear usually takes around a few months, the injury Ball suffered seemed to lead into a chronic knee issue necessitating a much longer recovery period than expected.

The Bulls point guard first went under the knife for his injured left knee on January 28, 2022; eight months later, with Ball still in pain, he elected to have another surgery, this time an arthroscopic debridement to relieve himself of the pain he's still experiencing in basketball activities. During that time, Ball even revealed that he still can't run or jump freely.

Ball is only 25 years old, so he has time on his side as he works his way back from one setback after another.