Bulls' Wendell Carter Jr. Ruled out for 4 Weeks with 'Severe' Quad Injury

The Chicago Bulls announced Tuesday third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. will be out for at least four weeks with a severe right quadricep contusion.

Carter has missed Chicago's last three games, his most recent appearance coming Jan. 18 in a 125-120 win over the Houston Rockets.

Head coach Billy Donovan commented further on the situation:

Carter has averaged 12.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 0.6 blocks while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.

The hope was that a coaching change would provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the franchise and get the trajectories of young players such as Carter back on course.

Instead, Chicago is tied for the 10th-best record in the Eastern Conference at 7-10. And when it comes to Carter, fans are still waiting for the 21-year-old to have a breakthrough.

Adding further concern, the 2018 first-round pick is looking at a third straight season in which he missed a significant chunk of games. A left thumb injury ended his rookie campaign in January 2019, and an ankle injury took him out for nearly two months last year.

The condensed nature of the 2020-21 schedule means Carter could be away for a higher percentage of games than he usually would with an injury of this severity. The Bulls' first half runs through March 3. It seems plausible he could be on the shelf until the All-Star break.