Patrick Williams' injury status worse than initially expected

Already down Lonzo Ball to a wrist injury, the Chicago Bulls will be without starting power forward Patrick Williams for an extended period of time. It was first reported earlier on November 20 that Williams would remain in Chicago while the team traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks.

Williams reportedly dealt with foot inflammation following the Bulls' November 18 win over the Detroit Pistons. According to CHGO Sports' Will Gottlieb, keeping Williams out of Chicago's game against Milwaukee was merely a precaution.

Patrick Williams set to miss a "week or so"

Several hours later, Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan revealed that the 6-foot-8 forward would miss more time than initially expected. Rather than returning to action on Friday for Chicago's NBA Cup contest against the Atlanta Hawks, Williams will be absent for at least a week according to Donovan.

Williams will miss games against the Bucks, Hawks, and Grizzlies. However, there's potential for the 23-year-old forward to miss even more time. It's worth noting that Williams underwent season-ending surgery on the same foot a season ago.

Williams was initially sidelined on January 25 last season due to a bone edema in his left foot. Nearly a month later, it was reported that Patrick would undergo surgery and miss the rest of the regular season. Surgery didn't stop Williams from participating in mini-camp, but it did cause concern when the Chicago forward dealt with discomfort in his surgically repaired foot in late September.

Although Williams experienced a slight setback, he returned to training camp and played in four of the Bulls' preseason games. He later appeared in all 15 of Chicago's first 15 games of the season, starting in equally as many. Today's contest in Milwaukee will be Williams' first missed game of the year.

The 6-foot-8 forward had averaged 9.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game prior to his injury. Despite a seven percent decline in field goal percentage, Williams continued to shoot it efficiently from beyond the arc at 39.4 percent.

Going forward, Chicago will likely rely on a combination of 11th-overall pick Matas Buzelis, Julian Phillips, and Dalen Terry. Buzelis's play will surely be the most intriguing storyline following Williams' injury. The rookie wing has appeared in 14 games, though he's played only 120 minutes. 20-year-old Buzelis averages 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game on the season.