Bulls' Joakim Noah Out 4-6 Months With Shoulder Injury
(CBS) Bulls center Joakim Noah will require surgery for a dislocated left shoulder and has been ruled out for four to six months, the team announced Saturday night.
With 9:41 left in the second quarter of Friday's 83-77 loss to Dallas, Noah got his left arm tangled up with Mavericks center JaVale McGee while battling for a rebound, and it twisted awkwardly. Noah immediately grabbed his left shoulder and ran to the locker room in extreme pain.
An evaluation at Rush Medical Center on Saturday determined that Noah will require surgery. He's expected to make a full recovery, the team said, but the timeline means Noah is out for the entire regular season and likely the playoffs as well. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Noah suffered a left shoulder sprain on Dec. 21, missing nine games. He returned Monday and played in four games before injuring the same shoulder again Friday night.
Speaking after the loss of the game and Noah, Bulls guard Derrick Rose expressed his disappointment.
"It hurt, it hurt," Rose said of seeing Noah's injury. "How hard he works, how hard he wants to be on the court, how much he means to this team. It's devastating, but guys have to come in and make sure they're ready."
Noah has averaged 4.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game working out of a reserve role. With Noah in the final year of his Bulls contract, it's possible that this could mark the end of his career in Chicago.