NBA Rumors: Lonzo Ball may need third surgery; could miss start of next season
NBA Rumors: The Chicago Bulls have ruled out Lonzo Ball for the remainder of this season and there is now concern he could miss more time.
The hope heading into this season was that Lonzo Ball would make his return from a knee injury that he suffered more than a year ago. However, that didn’t happen. He has officially been ruled out for the remainder of this season by the Chicago Bulls and there is now concern he could miss the start of next season.
According to a recent report, there is a belief that Bulls guard Lonzo Ball may need a third surgery which could have him miss another six months due to the new rehabilitation process. Ball has not played in a game for the Bulls since January 14, 2022. He hasn’t progressed and healed as originally believed and his current circumstances are heading into unprecedented territory.
In short, it’s been quite unfortunate all around, for both Ball and the Bulls. If Ball does need that third surgery, there’s likely a chance he misses the start of next season. Even if he gets the procedure done today, six months from now would be the beginning of September. He could theoretically be back for the start of training camps, but I’m not going to bet on that considering how difficult his recovery has been in the last year-plus.
Where does this news leave the Chicago Bulls?
If this is in fact accurate, Ball’s situation leaves the Bulls in a quite difficult situation heading into the offseason. Chicago has some big decisions to make and the uncertainty revolving around Ball will only make it all the more difficult.
If there is any saving grace in all this mess that has been Ball’s injury over the last year is the fact that he’s still 25 years old. Ball is still young enough that you would think that he could potentially bounce back from such an injury. However, missing almost two years of action can’t be a good thing.
You can’t help but root for Ball as a human. Injuries are difficult enough but the fact that there is a mystery surrounding his injury, that only adds another unfortunate layer. If a third surgery is something that will end up getting Ball back on the floor, this is absolutely something that he should embrace wholeheartedly.
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However, at this point, how can you assume that? Here’s hoping that we see Ball back playing basketball sooner rather than later.