(670 The Score) Bulls star guard Zach LaVine’s consultation with a specialist to address his lingering left knee soreness and swelling went “very well,” coach Billy Donovan said Wednesday.
LaVine had the meeting with the specialist and Bulls medical personnel in Los Angeles on Tuesday. LaVine was familiar with the specialist from when he had left ACL surgery back in 2017, Donovan previously noted. Dr. Neal ElAttrache was the individual who performed that ACL surgery on LaVine.
Donovan indicated that LaVine had fluid drained from the knee.
“He did have some swelling that was taken out of the knee,” Donovan said. “Gave him a lubricant to help him. I think right now the doctors feel totally fine with him resuming playing. I think Zach felt very, very good about the meeting. He felt like it went very well just based on some of the intervention, some of the things that they did during his visit with the doctor. He’s probably going to be 48 hours before he can kind of do any activity really, but he should be able to resume activity after that.”
The Bulls expect LaVine to return to action when they host the Hawks on Feb. 24 in their first game out of the All-Star break. He’ll miss Chicago’s game against Sacramento on Wednesday evening at the United Center, the third straight game he’ll sit out after experiencing swelling in his knee after a win last Friday.
Lavine will be eligible to participate in All-Star weekend, Donovan said while adding those plans will be sorted out after further meetings with doctors. LaVine is scheduled to participate in the 3-point contest Saturday and the All-Star Game on Sunday, health willing.
“There may be something like, ‘Hey, this is a wise choice on number of minutes’ or things like that,” Donovan said. “I don’t think Zach has any expectation to try to go to an All-Star Game and try to play 30 minutes. I don’t think that, but certainly it’s a great honor for him to be able to do that for the second year. He is healthy to play.”
LaVine had an initial scare with his left knee on Jan. 14, when he exited early in a game due to discomfort. An MRI the next day revealed no significant structural damage, but soreness and at times swelling persisted when he returned after missing five games.
When LaVine returns for the Bulls, his minutes will likely be managed to some degree, Donovan said, as will his availability for back-to-back sets.
“The doctors, all of them, don’t feel like he’s in harm’s way in continuing to play,” Donovan said.
LaVine is averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 34.6 minutes across 47 games while shooting 48.2% overall and 39.9% on 3-pointers.
In other injury news, Bulls guard Alex Caruso is progressing well after undergoing surgery in late January to repair a right wrist fracture, Donovan said. He's on the court running and doing conditioning work but hasn't been cleared to shoot or dribble yet. He could be cleared to do that in another week or 10 days, Donovan said. Caruso is expected to be re-evaluated sometime in March.
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.