Lonzo Ball is expected to return this week in preseason game vs. Wolves

Lonzo Ball’s long-awaited return to action finally has a date, as the player is expected to make his way back to court on Wednesday for the preseason game against the Timberwolves at 8 ET. If this was to happen, then it would mean that the basketball star would be ready to compete in his club’s campaign opener.

The guard has been hindered by injuries for quite some time now, as the Bulls player suffered setback after setback during his recovery process which now has extended to two-and-a-half years. After playing his last game on January 14, 2022, Ball revealed last week that he’s aiming to return to compete in Chicago’s season opener.

As we are still a week-and-a-half away from their regular-season match against the Pelicans, Lonzo attended the press and suprised everyone with his ambitious statements. “That’s the goal, obviously we can’t really tell the future, but that’s the plan I’m on,” Ball assured. “I think I’ll be ready for the first game for sure.”

Breaking: Lonzo Ball is expected to return to the court on Wednesday vs. Minnesota, sources told @ShamsCharania.

Ball last played on Jan. 14, 2022 and is coming back from cartilage transplant surgery. pic.twitter.com/6vpSv0KHd1

— ESPN (@espn) October 14, 2024

The club president Arturas Karnisovas reinforced his player’s words by confirming “that’s the plan” of him appearing for opening night. Nevertheless, the owner was cautious by also noting that they still need to monitor how Ball’s knee reacts during training camp.

“Going into training camp, we’re going to have to bring [Lonzo] up slowly,” Karnisovas explained. “He’s already played 5-on-5, but we haven’t seen him go through training camp so there’s going to be a lot of learning experience during training camp and how he can take loads, everyday practices. We’re going to take it one step at a time.”

Even though Ball is feeling stronger than ever, he did admit that he expects his role to be shortened for the first months. He will likely be on a minutes restriction to begin with, and later on admitted that he won’t be the same player he used to be.

However, he assured he’s developed other talents during this time. “Obviously I’m not going to be as athletic as I once was before, but I feel like skill and IQ can go a long way, especially in the league,” he said. “I’m not too worried about it, obviously my game’s going to have to change a little bit, but I still know how to play the game and I think I can play at a high level.”

Another injured Bulls player who is also expected to be fully healed by his team’s season opener is Australian star Josh Giddey

Once eliminated from the Olympic Games, Josh Giddey flew back to Melbourne with his teammates and reviewed his scans through medical scans, which indicated he suffered serious damage to his anterior talofibular ligament. Two months later, he’s still closing to the end of his rehabilitation.

The Aussie, who played last night in Chicago’s tune up game, expects to be fully healed for their first regular-season match against the Pelicans on October 24. “It’s probably at a point where if it was a play-off game I’d be out there playing but because we’re in the off-season, this isn’t something that you want to rush,” he assured last week.

Teammate Lonzo Ball, talked about both of them sharing similar roles in Chicago. “I think they’re trying to do what’s best for the team,” he expressed. “Obviously we had a lot of success when I was running point guard, getting rebounds, pushing it up, and Giddey is capable of doing the same thing.”

It was during their Paris matchup against Serbia, where the point guard rolled his ankle and fell to injury. That night, he remained on the court and witnessed how the Boomers lost this 95-90 quarter-final clash after giving up a 24-point lead against the Europeans.