Coby White Has Left Shoulder Surgery

The Tar Heel alum will be re-evaluated in four months.

After finishing the 2020-21 season with a flourish, scoring in double digits in 15 of the Bulls final 16 games, Coby White has suffered a setback. The Bulls announced on Thursday that White “underwent successful surgery on his left shoulder to repair damage from an injury sustained this past weekend while engaged in basketball activities away from the team.”

The specifics of the events surrounding the injury are yet to be divulged.

Coby White underwent successful surgery on his left shoulder today to repair damage from an injury sustained this past weekend while engaged in basketball activities away from the team.

He will be re-evaluated in four months.

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) June 10, 2021

The team also noted that the second-year NBA player would be re-evaluated in four months. To save you the trouble of counting, four months from June 10 would be October 10.

Keep in mind, the Bulls didn’t say that the Tar Heel alum would return to action in four months, but rather that he would be re-evaluated.

So what does this news mean for White and the Bulls in terms of the 2021-22 season?

Assuming things return to the normal 82-game schedule for the NBA in the upcoming season, the league has preliminarily set the following start-up dates:

• September 28 – Training camp starts

• October 19 – Regular season starts

There are currently no publicized dates for the beginning of preseason games, but they have to fall somewhere between September 28 and October 19.

With a projected re-evaluation date of October 10, White certainly won’t be ready for training camp and most likely won’t be ready for preseason games either; barring a sped up recovery timeline.

Additionally, let’s assume that White is cleared on October 10. The likelihood that he would then be ready to play in an NBA game nine days later seems unlikely.

This setback is particularly frustrating for White who had lost his starting job this year, but eventually found his way into the first five for the Bulls. The point guard was looking forward to year three and the opportunity to make his mark in Chicago.

After losing his off-season training window and lead-up to the regular season, White will have to work extra hard to prepare to cement his place as part of the Bulls’ future.

Stay tuned to All Tar Heels for updates on Coby White’s recovery timeline as we learn more.

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