Chicago Bulls forward Caleb Wilson will undergo surgery on Thursday to address a fractured right hand, the team announced, via K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.
According to Johnson, Wilson will likely be reevaluated in about three weeks and could miss four-to-six weeks of action.
Shams Charania of ESPN first reported that this year’s No. 4 overall pick was expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Wilson suffered the injury in the third quarter of Wednesday’s loss to San Antonio when he tried to knock the ball out of Victor Wembanyama’s hands. Wilson’s hand appeared to hit Wembanyama’s elbow on the play, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic.
It’s a disappointing turn of events for the 20-year-old, who was off to an impressive start to his rookie campaign. Through 10 games, Wilson has averaged 18.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks in 30.8 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .420/.324/.732.
As Lorenzi observes, this is Wilson’s third significant hand injury in about nine months. The former North Carolina star broke a bone in his left hand with the Tar Heels in February, then fractured his right thumb while dunking as he was ramping up to return to action. The broken thumb required surgery, which ended his freshman season.
Wilson earned numerous accolades in 2025-26 for his excellent play with the Tar Heels. He averaged 19.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.5 SPG and 1.4 BPG in 24 appearances (31.3 MPG) during his lone college season.
If Wilson is able to return from his fractured right hand in exactly five weeks, he’ll miss Chicago’s next 16 games, Johnson notes. That’s roughly 20% of the season, Johnson notes.
Noa Essengue, Patrick Williams and Leonard Miller are among the Bulls forwards who could receive more playing time with Wilson out. It also wouldn’t be surprising if players like Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey see an uptick in field goal attempts while Wilson is recovering.
Chicago is currently 1-9, the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.