So much for the narrative that Bulls starting center Wendell Carter Jr. dodged an injury bullet.
The team announced on Friday that the rookie big man had indeed suffered a significant injury to the left thumb, and could be headed for a surgery that will sideline him eight-to-12 weeks, or basically the rest of the season.
He was examined by the team’s specialists Drs. John Fernandez and Mark Cohen, and they both recommended surgery for the seventh-overall pick from the June draft.
A crazy turn of events since Carter Jr. first suffered the injury Tuesday in Los Angeles.
It was initially feared that Carter Jr. had torn the ligament in the thumb after X-rays showed some instability. An MRI was done Wednesday morning, however, and the initial readings were that it was just a sprain and he would be day-to-day.
Carter Jr. even tried to participate in the Thursday shootaround, hours before the Bulls were blown-out in Denver.
With the team back home, however, and Carter Jr.’s thumb still not feeling like it was progressing in a positive direction, they sent him to their specialists before the Friday practice. Just like that the news turned bad once again.
A huge gut-punch for the organization, especially with so much focus on Carter Jr.’s development, as well as the edge he brought to a team that was void of any real defenders. In the 44 games he did start, the 6-foot-10 rookie averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and led the Bulls with 1.3 blocks per game.
“I was kind of scared honestly, just that I wouldn’t be out there for my team,’’ Carter Jr. said Thursday, when he still thought it was a day-to-day recovery. “I’m just glad it wasn’t true, but it was definitely weighing on my mind that whole night.’’
