Chicago Bulls’ forward Carlos Boozer will miss at least the first 15 games of the 2010 season.
According to a Yahoo! Sports report, Boozer broke the fifth metacarpal of his right hand — his shooting hand – in three places, and is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday morning.
"I was at my house, came around a corner, fell over a bag, put my arm down to try to brace myself and fractured my fifth metacarpal into three pieces,” Boozer said Sunday night.
“I’m 265 (pounds), 5 percent body fat. I'm heavy, man. I guess I had to brace myself and my weight just collapsed the bone right there.”
The Bulls signed Boozer to a five-year, $75 million contract before this offseason, and expected him to provide a complementary presence inside to Joakim Noah this season. Boozer has averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game over his eight year career.
Boozer has long been considered a talented and versatile player, but has battled injuries throughout his career, missing 138 games through his first eight seasons.
Taj Gibson, who started at power forward for the Bulls last season, is likely to see the most playing time in Boozer’s absence.
