According to the Athletico Injury Report on Bulls.com, Aaron Gray will be out for 6-8 weeks with a stress fracture.

# Out for likely 6-8 weeks
# Stress fracture of his left fibula
# Developed lower leg pain over the last two days (09.29.09)
# Gray was examined by team physician Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center and it was determined that he has a stress fracture of his left fibula
# Diagnosis was confirmed by MRI

It’s a shame that the Bulls are down a big man this early in the season, given how poorly our other big men have routinely started their seasons. The one positive from this situation is that Vinny could be forced to give James Johnson some more burn at one of the big spots if the players ahead of him get in foul trouble. Johnson looks like a special talent, so the more minutes for him early on, the better.

Hopefully Aaron has a fast and full recovery.

According to K.C. Johnson, Luol Deng has began running and Tyrus Thomas is wearing a cast for a sore wrist.

Bulls general manager Gar Forman said Luol Deng has started running after a stress fracture in Deng’s right tibia sidelined the forward for the final 22 games of the regular season and the playoffs.

“He’s been [at the Berto Center] working some,” Forman said. “He’s starting to run some and get some shots up. So we think that’s progressing well. At this point, [the training staff] is real happy with his progress.”

Hopefully Deng can get back on track. A lot of fans are really writing Deng off as eing injured for a portion of the season, and when he is healthy, to not play at a very high level. However, if Deng can return to his 2006-2007 form, the Bulls could improve into the Eastern elite if they bring back Ben Gordon.

There was also this tidbit about Tyrus Thomas.

Tyrus Thomas is wearing an air cast for two to three weeks to immobilize a sore wrist. The injury isn’t serious

If the injury is only minor, than trades involving Thomas should still be able to go down on draft night. The downside to the injury, is that Thomas is going to lose a few weeks of working on his game, if he does stay with the Bulls.

According to Doug Thonus of Bulls Confidential, Luol Deng has started working out, but his stress fracture is still not yet at 100 percent.

Sources tell me that Luol Deng has started his summer workouts, but he’s still not 100% yet. He’s rumored to be going down to IMG to work out with David Thorpe at some point, but he’s presently in Chicago doing what he can while being cautious with the leg.

As for the stress fracture itself, the last update my sources have given me says another three to four weeks before it’s 100%.

Hopefully Luol heals soon, so he can go more full charge into his summer workouts. If Deng is back at 100 percent in four weeks, I would also think that he is planning to participate in the European Championships this summer.

According to The Times, Luol Deng will reject that advice of his trainer, David Thorpe, and likely the Chicago Bulls, and play for the Great Britain National Team this summer.

Luol Deng will fly in the face of advice from his personal coach and, most likely, his club, the Chicago Bulls, to play for Great Britain in the European Championship finals this summer.

The 6ft 9in forward is at present sidelined with a stress fracture of his right leg that may require minor surgery, the latest in a series of niggling injuries that have plagued Deng since his international debut.

As is common in the NBA, Deng works with a personal coach during the summer, in his case David Thorpe, the respected media pundit. Thorpe echoed the Bulls’ concerns about Deng playing in internationals and advised him to take a summer off to recuperate fully.

However, the suggestion was rejected by Deng, who is adamant that he will be in Chris Finch’s squad when they play their EuroBasket group games against Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in Poland in September.

“I recommended to him that he take the whole summer off and not even train with me,” Thorpe said. “But Luol told me that was not acceptable. There is no way he is not going to help GB in some capacity. He will maybe not play as many friendlies. He will maybe adjust his schedule after consulting with Coach Finch and coming up with a plan that makes sense for everybody.

“Luol feels a sense of duty as far as GB is concerned but he also loves playing for the team and in the style that Coach Finch plays. That’s what’s driving Lu on and as soon as he is healthy, we will sit down with doctors from the Bulls and from GB to come up with a plan.”

I think that Luol Deng’s commitment to the Great Britain National Team is quite admirable. He has done a lot of good for basketball in Great Britain, leading them to qualification for the 2009 European Championships this summer. He has helped to recruit major talent to the Great Britain team, namely his friend and Chicago Bulls teammate, Ben Gordon. With Gordon on hand, Great Britain could be a major contender to win the European Championship this summer.

But Deng’s lack of respect towards the NBA team that decided to pay him $80 million is less than admirable. According to Sam Smith, he is jealous of the Bulls’ rookie, Derrick Rose. He has produced at unacceptable levels of production and efficiency this year, and many believe that his subpar production has to do with his nagging injuries.

One thing that has become clear this year is that Luol Deng is an injury prone player. His body just doesn’t handle the stress of strenuous physical activity very well. Playing for Great Britain will only add increased wear and tear on Deng’s body, which will make him more susceptible to being injured during the NBA season.

It would be wise for Deng, in terms of his NBA career, to just rest this summer. But for Deng, his career isn’t just about the NBA. Playing for Great Britain seems to be equally important to Deng as is playing for the Bulls. This is something the Bulls will have to deal with going forward. If they don’t like this, and see this as something that will just result in Deng getting injured every year, they might need to seek out potential trade suitors for Deng.

Chicago Bulls forward, Luol Deng, may be out for the season with a stress fracture in his lower leg.

When Bulls forward Luol Deng didn’t start the third quarter on Saturday, the team called the problem a tibia bone contusion.

Following the game, a more serious possibility was raised. X-rays showed that Deng might have a stress fracture in his lower leg and could be lost for the season. He’ll have an MRI exam Monday to further assess the damage.

“It’s been bothering me maybe three or four weeks,” Deng said. “I thought it was just a sprain. I had a play in the first half where I jumped up and I felt it. I’m not in pain. When I’m walking, when I get on my toes or I’m jumping, I feel it in there a little bit. But I thought it was just a bruise, but it stayed there.”

Coach Vinny Del Negro was pessimistic when he mentioned the injury following the game.

“We’ve got to wait and get results, but it doesn’t sound very good and that’s a huge blow to us,” he said. “Hopefully it’s not and hopefully we can get him back as soon as possible.”

The Bulls are going to be in a bit of a bind at the three spot going forward. John Salmons will obviously slide over into the starting small forward spot and log heavy minutes there.

With Deng out and Thabo Sefolosha traded, the Bulls really won’t have much of a backup small forward for the rest of the year. Tim Thomas, who was also injured in last night’s game, could log some small forward minutes when he comes back from injury. Kirk Hinrich also might have to slide over to the small forward spot in some small ball lineups.

With this latest injury, it is probably time to officially label Deng as an injury prone player. He has missed a solid chunk of games due to injury in three of his five seasons.

Given Deng’s contract, lack of production, and proneness to injury, the Bulls might be wise to start looking for placed to unload Deng this summer, as that contract could end up weighing down the Bulls for many years to come.