Over the weekend, Chicago Bulls newly named All-Star Jimmy Butler left the Bulls game against the Denver Nuggets with a scary knee injury. It looked bad as he was getting carted off the court in a wheelchair and it didn’t look great for Jimmy but hopes were high.
The MRI on Butler’s knee came back negative and there was a collective sigh of relief in Chicago. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, Butler was still hurt and now there’s finally more detail on his injury.
The Bulls released the following in an official press release.
Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler was re-examined by Bulls Head Team Physician Brian Cole. Butler is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with a strained left knee.
Butler has begun rehabbing his injury and he will be allowed to engage in all activities as tolerated with the primary goal of maintaining his conditioning over the ensuing weeks.
As a result of this injury, Butler will not play in the NBA All-Star Game this Sunday in Toronto. Butler was selected as a reserve to the East squad by the Eastern Conference head coaches. He originally suffered the injury in the second quarter of Friday night’s game at Denver.
Butler joins Joakim Noah on the injury list shortly after the Bulls got Mike Dunleavy back on the court. Joakim Noah’s season is essentially over after his shoulder injury and in his time missed, the Bulls defense has been subpar and the Bulls have gone 5-12 over their last 17 games.
Chicago has gone from a team that looked to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference this year but now, the Bulls are going to have to take a step back in Butler’s absence.
The NBA announced Pau Gasol has been selected to replace Butler on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
