Woj: 'No Guarantees' Bulls' Lonzo Ball Returns From Knee Injury This Season

Lonzo Ball could not play for the Bulls.

There is no guarantee that Ball will play this season, as he is still experiencing pain while he rehabilitates his knee injury.

The hope is that by the All-Star break in February, they will know if Lonzo Ball is ready to play for Chicago. A lot of that is dependent on where the Bulls are in the table.

Ball only played 35 games last season because of a knee injury. He was expected to be out for six to eight weeks.

The bad news was that the knee didn't respond well to rehabilitation.

Rob Schaefer @rob_schaef

Today is 7 weeks since surgery. Initial timeline was 6-8 weeks. Donovan has said it's the bone bruise giving him discomfort issues

"He hasn't gone backwards. He just has not been able to go forward far enough to do the things he's gonna need to be able to do to play."

Ball was ruled out for the season on April 6th, one day after Billy Donovan said Ball was still experiencing pain in his knee.

Jamal Collier @JamalCollier

Lonzo Ball experienced some discomfort when the Bulls tried to ramp up his knee rehab again, Billy Donovan says

He says they’ll meet in the next day or two to determine the next steps

The UCLA product was going to have another procedure that would keep him out for an extended period of time.

Jamal Collier @JamalCollier

Lonzo Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee next Wednesday, the Bulls just announced.

He’ll be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic gave more good news.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

Both sides are expected to monitor the response over the next two weeks, and a return to play based upon Ball's rehab process.

It appears that Ball may not be seen until the 24th century.

The Bulls have turned to Goran Dragi, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso and Coby White at the point so far this season, but Ball's absence has been felt as Chicago is currently 11th in the Eastern Conference with an 11-15 record

In Ball's absence, the team's offensive players are doing everything they can.