Luol Deng May Miss First Game Against The Heat

Luol Deng May Miss First Game Against The Heat

Although Luol Deng will return in time for the tipoff in Miami, he may not play in the first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat.

Tom Thibodeau, the coach of Chicago, revealed that Deng is on day-to-day. The two-time Chicago All-Star was discharged from Rush University Medical Center last Saturday and may travel to Miami on Sunday evening.

After going through a spinal tap to check for viral meningitis, which proved to be negative, the player was compelled to stay in the hospital due to complications that resulted from the procedure. A “blood patch” was necessary in order to block off a spinal fluid leakage. The condition caused Luol Deng to experience disorientation and migraine headaches.

The blood of the player had to be injected into the areas that were damage in order to allow the spinal tap puncture to heal naturally, according to a source. While he is recovering, it may be possible for the player to put off any of his travel plans for the moment.

As the team went to Miami on Sunday, Deng defended the people who said that he missed the last two games against the New Jersey Nets due to flu through Twitter. He also posted that he will be seeing the team in Miami soon through the same social media forum.

The Chicago player was still a bit groggy and was experiencing a sore back, although the headaches have started to subside. In the absence of Luol Deng, Marco Belinelli will likely start the game after he scored 24 points in the last game against the Nets.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday May 06 2013, 4:08 AM EDT. Ref: Chicago Tribune. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0