Feb. 03--Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic remains hospitalized following surgery to repair a hematoma that developed on the heels on an appendectomy.
"He developed a hematoma ... which is a collection of blood (and) he had to go back in and have a second surgery to remove that," coach Fred Hoiberg said following the Bulls' shootaround at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday. "He's on a liquid diet right now. He's in quite a bit of pain but his spirits are OK. Hopefully, he'll get out of the hospital soon and just get him back."
Mirotic had an appendectomy Jan. 27 and was expected to return after the All-Star break in mid-February. Now, there is no timetable for Mirotic's return.
"We just don't know yet," Hoiberg said. "He had the complication, got it fixed and hopefully we'll get him back soon.
"It's still too early to tell. We'll have a better idea once Niko gets out of the hospital. Gradually, he'll have to get his strength back. Hopefully, he'll be out of the hospital in the next day or two and hopefully Niko will recover quickly from it. But you have to be careful anytime you're dealing with surgery, not just one but two so you have to be a little bit careful."
Mirotic is averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 44 games.
