Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will require surgery to address a left shoulder injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
The update comes from head coach Billy Donovan, who had previously noted that Essengue suffered the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a shoulder contusion, in a G League contest.
“Usually those things are six to seven months,” Donovan said of Essengue’s recovery timeline, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Bulls’ coach added that the team preferred to address the injury now rather than let it linger into the offseason.
After being selected 12th in the 2025 draft, Essengue played just six minutes for the Bulls in his rookie season, recording one steal and one foul in that time.
He appeared in four games for the Windy City Bulls G League team, where he averaged 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.
According to Johnson (via Twitter), Donovan said he had spoken with Essengue after shootaround, and that he was handling the news well.