Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is looking increasingly less likely to appear in a game this season as he continues to recover from a knee injury that has required two surgical procedures.

Head coach Billy Donovan told reporters on Saturday that Ball is "nowhere close" to returning and the team could have a formal cut-off date for him to play at some point after the All-Star break if things don't start to improve.

Ball hasn't appeared in a game since Jan. 14, 2022, when he suffered a meniscus tear in his knee that required arthroscopic surgery.

The Bulls announced at the time that Ball was expected to miss six to eight weeks. He wound up missing the rest of the season.

Following Chicago's first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Ball told reporters on April 28 that he was "at a standstill" in his recovery and still experiencing pain.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Sept. 29 that Ball had a second surgery to address some of the lingering problems in his knee, but there was "confidence" in the Bulls organization he would be able to return at some point this season.

In response to a fan question in November, Sam Smith of the team's official website said the "general word" around the Bulls was that Ball "might" be ready to go in January or around the All-Star break.

Donovan's comments seem to suggest that Ball won't be returning in the next three weeks before the All-Star Game.

Ball's absence has compounded the problems in Chicago this season. The Bulls entered Saturday as the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 22-26 record. They rank in the bottom half of the NBA in points scored, points allowed and offensive rating.

The Bulls signed Ball to a four-year, $80 million contract as part of their offseason spending spree two years ago with the hope of building an Eastern Conference playoff contender.

The plan was going great for the first four months last season when they got off to a 39-21 start, but they lost 15 of their final 22 regular-season games to finish as the No. 6 seed. They lost to the Bucks in five games in the first round of the playoffs.

Ball averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 35 starts last season.