Zach LaVine missed a chunk of time for the Chicago Bulls as a result of a foot injury. While the team performed well without their star on the court, he is obviously a factor in their chances of finding overall success. In fact, the Bulls had posted a 4-2 record entering Thursday night's game against the Toronto Raptors with LaVine back in the rotation.

Unfortunately for LaVine and the Bulls, the injury bug has not disappeared. LaVine set out to attack the Raptors and get to the rim in the third quarter, but he rolled his right ankle after stepping on the foot of Toronto's Jontay Porter. After hopping around on one foot for a few seconds, LaVine hobbled towards the Bulls' bench, visibly frustrated after throwing a towel. The two-time All-Star went back to the locker room to receive treatment, returning to the bench area less than 10 minutes later.

This seemed like good news for the Bulls, as LaVine checked back into the game late in the third quarter and appeared to be well enough to give things a go. His return did not last long. LaVine missed two shots and was pulled from the game by head coach Billy Donovan just about four minutes later, a decision that was made due to the star's lack of mobility.

“I could tell when he got back in there that he wasn’t moving great,” Donovan said after the game, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “I think he wanted to keep going. He could never get himself going.”

One of the most injury-ridden teams in the league this season, LaVine is now set to once again appear on the Bulls' injury report. Lonzo Ball has been injured for years due to ongoing knee problems, veteran Torrey Craig has been dealing with a sprained plantar fascia, and both Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams have been forced to miss time recently. Should LaVine be forced to miss more time, his absence will negatively impact the Bulls in more ways than one.

Not only is his production on the court valuable to the team, but LaVine being injured less than three weeks away from the NBA trade deadline leads to even more skepticism about the possibility of him being traded. LaVine has been on the trade block since the start of the season, and the Bulls have been unable to find a suitor for the star.

Although they did pick up their 20th win of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Raptors 116-110 on the road, LaVine's injury status now looms large for an organization full of question marks.