Dwyane Wade said he's not giving up, despite an injury that will keep him out of the game for the remainder of the Chicago Bulls' regular season.
"I've been trained to keep going, even when it's hard," Wade wrote in an Instagram post hours after the team updated on his injury. "When it hurts. When it sucks. When I don't want to. I LOOK PAST IT. Relentless forward progress to the finish. Call it what you want: Stubbornness, Endurance, Determination, Guts. DEEP DOWN, I don't know how to give up!!!"
Wade will be out for the remainder of the Chicago Bulls' regular season after spraining his elbow Wednesday night, the team announced Thursday.
"This morning, Dwyane Wade underwent an MRI for a right elbow injury suffered in the fourth quarter of last night’s game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies," the team said in a Thursday afternoon statement. "The results of the MRI showed a sprain and a small fracture in the elbow. Wade will be out the remainder of the regular season."
The Bulls lost for the sixth time in seven games when they were defeated by the Grizzlies 98-91.
Wade suffered the sprain late in the game when he collided with a teammate and Memphis' Zach Randolph while going for a rebound. Wade tried to play through the ailment, but the injury caused him to miss the final 8:34 of the game.
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Although Wade has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season, he has opted against having surgery on the injury and will try to return for the playoffs if he is cleared by doctors.
In addition to Wade's latest Instagram update, his wife Gabrielle Union also tweeted a message to Bulls fans Thursday.
"My [heart] @DwyaneWade...The prayers & support have been amazing!" she wrote. "THANK U to all his fans from #BullsNation as well as #HeatNation #respect."
A postseason bid is not guaranteed for the Bulls, who currently sit one game behind the Detroit Pistons in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 14 games left to play.
"Hopefully it's not as bad as I perceived it to be," Wade told reporters after the game, with his arm in a sling. "I knew it was something more just because of what I heard. I tried to play through it a little bit until the pain started getting a little more."
With an opt-out clause in the contract he signed with the Bulls before the season, Wade could potentially have played his last game as a member of the team. He has been critical of the team's front office and teammates' effort at various points in the season, so his status for next year is very much up in the air after this latest setback.
