Lonzo Ball's Recovery "At A Standstill"

He had the surgery in January, but now, over three months later, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball says his recovery from a torn meniscus is "at a standstill." Ball will see another specialist next week. 

Lonzo Ball said that his recovery from his knee injury has been really frustrating.

Ball is going to meet a specialist next week. He still has pain.

(Via Bulls FB Live)

— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) April 28, 2022

The initial timeline given after Ball's arthroscopic surgery was 6-to-8 weeks. But his knee simply didn't respond to basketball activities in March, and he was shut down for good.

"I was going at it pretty hard trying to get back as fast as possible," Ball said on Thursday. "But like I said, at a standstill. I still have pain. Gotta get that figured out this summer for sure." 

Is another surgery an option? "Hopefully not," he said. "I wouldn't want to have another one. But if that's what it takes, then I pretty much have no choice at this point."

Second torn meniscus in same knee

Making this situation a bit more unnerving is that Ball also had a meniscus tear in the same knee in the summer of 2018. That time, however, he returned to the Los Angeles Lakers for training camp at full health. 

Ball signed a 4-year, $85M contract with the Bulls last offseason, but managed to play in only 35 games in his first year there. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting a career-best 42.3% from long distance.

Playing without Ball, and a not-100% Zach LaVine, the Bulls were knocked out in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.

Lonzo Ball: "It’s very frustrating. This year, we had a lot of promise, I felt like. And we had a lot of goals that I don’t think were met, mainly due to a lot of health issues."

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 28, 2022

 "It's very frustrating," Ball said of the way his season ended. "This year, we had a lot of promise I felt like... (But) You can't change the past. I think everything happens for a reason. For me, it's now about moving forward and getting ready for next year."