Lonzo Ball hasn't played in an NBA game in over two years as he injured his knee back in January of 2022. He has had three different surgeries since then, and he is nearing a return. Ball recently started a podcast, What an Experience, and he has been providing a lot of updates on his health lately. Ball's injury was a complex one, and in a recent episode he broke down the injury in detail.

Something that requires three different surgeries obviously has a lot of moving parts, and it's a serious injury. Ball explained what happened and gave the entire timeline of what he has been through in the past couple years.

“To make a long story short, ultimately, it started with a meniscus tear,” Ball said. “Basically started on the Lakers when I tore it the first time. Tore it a couple more times to a point to where there was no more meniscus left and bone on bone was rubbing. Cartilage was gone and the bone was messed up so I had to get new meniscus from a donor, I had to get a bone allograft, and I had to get some new cartilage put in as well. All that, you know, healed up and now I'm back on the court. Really was about 14, 15 months in now, so, the stuff before that, we were trying to figure out what the problem was, that was a wasted year, but now we're here.”

Lonzo Ball's explanation does clear up a lot of things in regard to why he has been out for so long. He said it himself, part of it was a waste of a year because it was taking so long for them to figure out what the actual issue was. Once it was discovered and he was able to start doing things to fix the issue, he started to recover. Now, he is close to returning for the Bulls.

Lonzo Ball plans to play in the Bulls season opener

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball (center) looks on from the bench during the second half of game three of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center.
© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Another thing that Lonzo Ball discussed on his podcast is when he could he return to the court. There have been question marks about his future with the Bulls, but Ball noted that he is planning to play in the season opener for Chicago if everything goes to plan this offseason.

“Yes, I firmly believe that, that's the plan that I'm on and I haven't said any setbacks,” Ball said in response. “I expect to play the first game.”

There it is. Everyone has been wondering what is in store for Lonzo Ball's future, and now we know where his head is at. Obviously nothing is set in stone, but Ball wants to stay with the Bulls, and he is hoping to be ready to go for the start of next season.