Noah Looks To Return As Soon As Possible
On Tuesday, Joakim Noah had the surgically inserted pin removed from his hand. After the procedure doctors placed another cast on Noah's right hand to stabilize the condition.
"Everything has been on point," Noah said. "The doctors did a great job getting the pin out. It's usually a 10-minute procedure. And it took a little bit longer than that. It was probably my fault. I must've lifted weights or something. The doctor wasn't very happy about it. Dr. Cohen, I apologize. He's a nice guy."
Noah will have his second cast removed on Monday and then will step up his rehab and begin strengthening his hand.
"I'm trying to be patient and stay in high spirits and help this team that's been playing very good basketball," Noah said. "I will rehab it until my hand gets strong. And I will be on the court as soon as I can."
If it were up to Noah he'd probably already be back on the court. And he's already started lobbying head coach Tom Thibodeau to bring him along on the upcoming five-game road trip.
"It's Thibs' decision, unfortunately," Noah said, smiling. "I told him I was going to get on the plane and he would have to physically kick me off the plane. I really want to go on this trip. It's cold out here right now. I'm excited to spend some time with my teammates, feel a part of it a little bit."
The Bulls will have back-to-back games at the United Center starting on Friday. They'll depart on Tuesday for a stretch of five road games over the course of two weeks.
