Billy Donovan Gives Encouraging Update on Bulls’ Lonzo Ball’s Knee Rehab

The guard has been out since Jan. 14, 2022 due to knee injuries.

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will start running again in January after a nearly two-year recovery process due to various injuries.

“The pain that he was experiencing has been eliminated,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said, via Chicago Tribune’s Julie Poe.

The decision to start running is a huge step in Ball’s recovery after he underwent a cartilage transplant in his left knee in March. It was the third knee surgery Ball has been through. 

Ball is not expected to play during the 2023–24 season, but the development is positive nonetheless—not long ago, it was thought that Ball’s basketball career could be done. Ball even told media in October that he “definitely” plans to return to basketball.

Ball is not expected to return for the Bulls this season, but the absence of pain is a huge marker for his recovery as an athlete and a person. He experienced chronic pain in everyday activities for at least a year before that cartilage procedure. Has to be a huge relief.

— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) December 28, 2023

The last time Ball played was on Jan. 14, 2022 when he left the game due to knee soreness, which eventually revealed a small tear in his meniscus.