Lonzo Ball won't have knee surgery immediately, with the Chicago Bulls planning to have their star point guard undergo prehab work before going under the knife. This means Ball could be out for more than two months since his initial timetable for return is six to eight weeks after surgery.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan confirmed the development on Friday, ahead of their showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks. As KC Johnson of NBC Sports noted, the Chicago tactician added that Ball has a bone bruise on top of his meniscus tear in his left knee.
Prior to Friday, Lonzo Ball has missed the Bulls' last three games due to the knee injury he sustained on January 14 against the Golden State Warriors. Now, he is set to miss more after he decided to opt in for surgery to address the nagging issue.
There were initial plans for Ball to try to play through it, but clearly, those efforts did not bear fruit.
Fortunately for the Bulls, they are quite deep at the guard spot with the likes of Coby White and Alex Caruso ready to step up and fill in while Ball recovers.
Chicago is quite in a rut recently after losing four of their last five games–against some top teams no less–so it is understandable why there are some concerns about Ball's absence. However, they remain atop the East and should be able to contend for the top seeds with the current roster they have.