Bulls and Deng seem to agree on leg injury

POSTGAME UPDATE: Luol Deng discussed his leg injury after the Bulls' win over Golden State, the second straight game he's skipped. I don't think this is as controversial as some reports will make it out to be, though it was handled in a strange way.

To recap, Deng felt something early in Saturday's game against Houston. X-rays suggested a possible stress fracture in his right tibia, but after an MRI exam came back clear the next day, the Bulls felt confident the injury was minor.

When Deng didn't feel right on Tuesday in Charlotte, he decided to get another opinion, which is not unusual. Something did show up on a CT scan and now it appears Deng has the early stages of a stress fracture in his right tibia. According to a statement released by the team, there is no actual crack in the bone.

Is this diagnosis any different from the original view? Yeah, it seems to have changed a little, but that's why doctors run further tests. After reading the statement and hearing Deng's explanation, the two sides appear to be on the same page.

The team statement mentioned that decisions on Deng's progress will be made on a day-to-day basis. But if his leg shows early signs of a stress fracture, logic suggests he needs some time off to get it headed in the right direction. My guess is Deng will be out at least two weeks.

John Salmons (23 points) played well against Golden State, so a quality replacement is available. The Bulls lost some depth by trading away Thabo Sefolosha, though. If Tim Thomas can return from a knee injury in a few days, they should be OK. If not, they'll probably need to sign a forward to a 10-day contract.

UPDATE, 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY -- The Bulls released an ambiguous statement about Luol Deng's health status before Wednesday's game against Golden State. The only thing I can gather definitively about this is the team does not think he has a stress fracture and does not expect him to miss the rest of the season.

Deng consulted his own doctor in the last day or two and had a CT scan, fearing that he might still have a stress fracture in his right tibia, even though the Bulls doctors determined after an MRI on Sunday that he did not.

I will say that if his leg has been bothering him for two or three weeks, like Deng said, I would think it's more serious than a bruise. So who knows?

Dr. Brian Cole, by the way, is the Bulls' team physician. And by “active rest,” I assume they mean he won't be playing, but won't be sitting on the couch, either. Officially, he's still day-to-day.

Deng was in the locker room before the game, but did not speak to reporters and coach Vinny Del Negro deferred to the team statement, which had not yet been distributed when he spoke. Here's the full release:

“Luol Deng had an examination today by Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush Medical Center. A review of a repeat MRI, and CT scan of his tibia, indicate that this represents an early anterior tibial stress fracture. All of the information to date points to some mild inflammation along his tibia, with a small irregularity within the cortical bone, with no obvious break in the inner or outer layer of bone.

Symptoms, developing Saturday, when the Bulls played the Houston Rockets, prompted this recent evaluation. He has been restricted from high-level activity since then. At this point, he will undergo “active rest,” meaning that he will be encouraged to challenge himself physically, and if symptoms remain minimal, he will be allowed an expeditious return to play. These decisions will be made on a day-to-day basis.”