Bobby Portis Played 2 Months with 3rd-Degree Burn on Foot After Heat Pack Injury

Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis revealed Saturday that he played with a third-degree burn on his foot for two months this season.

According to ESPN.com's Nick Friedell, Portis said the injury occurred in March due to a mishap with a heat pack.

Portis explained how the incident happened prior to Chicago's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 4: "The heat pack burned me before the game. I was actually on the [trainer's] table. I couldn't feel it. I had my headphones in, but I didn't feel [the pack] burn through. ... Ever since then, it's been hurting. ... I had a third-degree burn on my foot. On top of my foot. Every time I tied my shoe up, it was right there on the spot. After the game, it would be bloody and nasty."

Portis said his foot is still "kinda, sorta" bothering him and that it impacted him down the stretch: "No one ever really knew about it, but it affected me a little bit. Every time I bent my foot, it hurt, it hurt."

In his second NBA season, the 22-year-old averaged 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

The former first-round pick out of Arkansas also put up 6.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest during the Bulls' first-round playoff series loss to the Boston Celtics.

Portis started 13 games in 2016-17 and served as the primary backup at power forward behind Nikola Mirotic following the trade of Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma City Thunder.