The Chicago Bulls have had as bad of injury luck as any team in the league through the first few games of the year. It was already known that second-year big man Lauri Markkanen’s season debut would be delayed due to an elbow injury, while guard Kris Dunn has only appeared in one game due to an MCL strain.
As it turns out, Dunn isn’t the only Bull who will be sidelined due to an MCL injury. We learned on Thursday afternoon, via Shams Charnia of The Athletic, that power forward Bobby Portis suffered his own knee injury, and while there is currently no timetable for his return, he’s expected to be sidelined for a significant amount of time.
Sources on @TheAthletic @WatchStadium: Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis has suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee and is expected to miss several weeks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 25, 2018
This news comes on the heel of a report by K.C. Jones of the Chicago Tribune which indicated that early estimates have Portis being out for “at least four weeks.” Soon after, the Bulls confirmed that Portis will, indeed, miss about 4-6 weeks.
INJURY UPDATE: Forward Bobby Portis sustained a moderate sprain of the MCL of his right knee during the game last night. It is estimated he will be out for four-to-six weeks. pic.twitter.com/mqXkU0T7ba
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 25, 2018
Portis had appeared in all four games Chicago has played this season, but left Wednesday night’s tilt against the Charlotte Hornets in some pain after just under 20 minutes of action. On the season, Portis has been a steady hand in the team’s frontcourt, averaging 10.5 points and 10 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game.
Losing Portis is a brutal blow for an already thin frontcourt in Chicago, one that has relied heavily on minutes from rookie big man Wendell Carter and Jabari Parker early in the year with Markkanen on the shelf.
