When the Bulls most promising player suffered a high-grade elbow sprain back in training camp, we were told we’d have to wait 6-8 weeks to see him get back on the court.
Well, it’s been seven weeks since Lauri Markkanen injured his elbow, yet he is not as close to returning as we were originally led to believe.
This Thursday is 7 weeks since Lauri Markkanen elbow injury. Bulls initially guessed 6-8 week absence. Fred Hoiberg said Bulls will take cautious approach to make sure he's 100 percent. Probably 2-4 weeks away.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 12, 2018
2-4 more weeks? Not the best news for a team that currently sits at 4-10. If Markkanen misses another 4 weeks, he’ll miss an additional 15 games.
It sucks that Finland’s finest hooper will likely miss the season’s first 30 games, but what matters most is his long-term health. It appears that range of motion basketball activities are still a problem for Markkanen.
Lauri Markkanen “is not shooting a lot,” Fred Hoiberg says. He’s doing plenty of conditioning. He’s still 2-4 weeks away, Hoiberg says.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) November 12, 2018
Upper body injuries are typically much less damaging to a player’s long-term health than lower body ones, which should help us all breathe a sigh of relief. Nevertheless, it’s frustrating that the lack of Markkanen’s right arm mobility will keep him off of our televisions for another month.
The longer he, Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis are out, the more painful this season will be.
