"Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right wrist, ending his solid rookie campaign.

The Bulls' regular season ends April 20, but they have won nine straight games and are on their way to making the playoffs for the first time since Michael Jordan's last season with Chicago in 1998. General manager John Paxson didn't address Monday whether Deng could be back for the postseason.

Deng, a starter who averages 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game, likely will undergo surgery after an MRI Sunday night revealed a torn ligament in his wrist, which he hurt in the Bulls' 94-86 win over Memphis March 28. He played in subsequent wins at Charlotte and at home against Cleveland, but sat out Saturday's game against the Bobcats because of the injury.

ADVERTISEMENT
``That's a huge blow to us,'' Paxson said. ``We were so lucky early on with no injuries and now we have a bunch.''

Meanwhile, center Eddy Curry could be back playing ``by the end of the week,'' after being released from the hospital Monday, Paxson said. Curry has missed the last two games after being hospitalized Wednesday for an irregular heartbeat, but his heart problems have dissipated, Bulls team physician Dr. Kathy Weber said.

Curry, the Bulls' leading scorer with 16.1 points per game, underwent tests at Rush University Medical Center to better determine his cardiac function. Bulls officials said he will be allowed to resume play if several outpatient tests over the next two days turn out normal.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles has said the 22-year-old Curry will be brought back into action slowly because of the expected loss of conditioning.

Guard Kirk Hinrich, who missed several games recently because of a sore left hamstring and played limited minutes Saturday, will make the Bulls' upcoming road trip, Paxson said.

Despite the injuries, the Bull"