The Chicago Bulls have been without their starting point guard since last-January.
And that absence will continue.
On Monday, Lonzo Ball underwent his third surgery on his left knee to help eliminate the lingering pain and discomfort.
Prior to Monday’s game against Philadelphia, Bulls coach Billy Donovan gave an update on Ball and and the battle that faces the point guard to return to play.
“I think we all understand that that’s going to be an uphill battle for him. But I know that he’s going to do everything possible in his rehab to get himself back on the court.”
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For Ball, the third procedure was a cartilage transplant, which isn’t a common surgery for an athlete, and puts the timetable and the ability for Ball to return to the floor at risk, but for Lonzo and the Bulls, this route seemed to be the best hope of comeback.
“I remember being high school or college and Bernard King blew out his ACL and no one ever came back from that so you’re just hopeful that maybe he can be the first,” Donovan said of Ball. “I know he’s going to work really hard. I know that they felt that the surgery went well, but I do agree with you — there’s nothing that’s out there that says that, ‘hey, here’s how guys have come back and been able to respond to this.’”
As far as how long Ball will be out, especially with the fact that he’s yet to return, it’s impossible to tell.
“I did not really get a timetable, just that he is going to be out indefinitely,” Donovan said of Ball’s timetable. “My feeling would be next year’s training camp, you gotta go in there with him not being available. I think you have to prepare like that, but I just don’t know what the length of time actually will be for him being able to get at some point back on the court playing again.”
Here’s to hoping for the best and that we see Lonzo on the court once again, whether it’s sooner or later.
Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire
