Rip Hamilton's Foot Injury More Serious Than Expected

An MRI on Sunday revealed the 34-year-old guard has a torn Plantar Fascia in his left foot

Late Sunday evening, the Chicago Bulls announced that guard Rip Hamilton underwent an MRI on his injured left foot and the news was worse than initially thought. The procedure revealed Hamilton had torn his Plantar Fascia.

Hamilton hurt himself Saturday in the third quarter of the Bulls' 93-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The guard had to be helped off the court as he couldn’t bear any weight on his foot, and initial speculation was that he’d torn his Achilles.

After the game, the 13-year veteran said he felt something “pop” in the bottom of his foot. Unfortunately, there's no timetable as to when he'll be back on the court, and the team has stated the 34-year-old will return to action “as his symptoms permit."

The injury to his Plantar Fascia is one of several in Hamilton's short tenure with the Bulls.

Last season, Rip appeared in 28 of the Bulls 66 regular season games due to a number of injuries. With redemption on his mind and to prepare for the long grind of a full, 82-game season this year, the guard hired a physical therapist over the summer to help strengthen his body using stretching and flexibility techniques. 

The Bulls are set to face the rival Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night and if Rip can’t go, then second-year swingman Jimmy Butler or Marco Belinelli are the most likely candidates to replace him in the starting lineup.

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