After nearly two months missed due to an injured elbow, an injury that the Bulls have exercised extreme caution with, it appears that Lauri Markkanen is finally on the cusp of returning to game action.
“Lauri had a great workout yesterday and responded well today. The plan is to have him fully participate in practice tomorrow. Depending on how he does with that will determine a plan on when he will come back.” Coach Hoiberg on Lauri Markkanen
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 26, 2018
My guess, barring no setback: Markkanen returns next week at Indy.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 26, 2018
If K.C. Johnson’s intuition is correct, Markkanen would miss four more games, which would add up to 24 missed games in total.
However, if Markkanen is ready for full contact by tomorrow after he’s already accumulated a week or so of “controlled practice”, it would seem as if returning for this weekend’s back to back against Detroit and Houston is on the table.
Regardless of his actual return date, it’s pretty clear that we won’t have to go longer than a week or so to see Markkanen back on the court. After this team’s 5-15 start, Bulls fans deserve all the good news we can get, and this is arguably the best news of the season.
