Zach LaVine likely won’t play for the Chicago Bulls again until 2024.

The team announced Wednesday that LaVine will require three to four more weeks of treatment to address right foot soreness, which has already sidelined the guard intermittently for the last two weeks.

This timeline would place LaVine’s earliest expected return to the court on Dec. 28 for a home game against the Indiana Pacers. But LaVine could remain sidelined until the new year. That leaves little time before the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, by when the Bulls are expected to move LaVine as the team approaches a future without their longtime star.

The injury occurred during a home game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 20 — just days after LaVine chose not to deny reports that he is interested in a trade away from Chicago.

LaVine played through the injury for both games of a homestand against the Heat, then missed one road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He returned for three games but was pulled in the second half of a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 28.

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“It felt a little better and just progressively got worse,” LaVine said of his foot injury after the game in Boston. “It just didn’t make sense to continue to risk it. It hurts. When you suit up, no one cares about that. I’ve played through a lot of stuff before so it doesn’t matter. But it didn’t make sense with the way it was feeling to keep going.”

The team shut him down for a week three days later.

The Bulls have been playing their best basketball of the season without LaVine, notching a three-game win streak since his extended absence was announced last week. This stretch has been highlighted by a more fluid style of play and bolstered by hot shooting performances from Coby White. But this brief improvement has also raised a pointed question — can the Bulls keep playing like this when LaVine returns?

[ [Don’t miss] The Chicago Bulls suddenly are playing with pace. How did that happen? Can they keep it up when Zach LaVine returns? ]

DeMar DeRozan alluded to a potentially lengthier absence for LaVine after the team’s win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

“It’s one day at a time,” DeRozan said. “Zach’s got to take care of himself, not sure how long that will be. So every single day, every single practice, shootaround, game, we just got to stay locked in, be prepared for when guys get all the way healthy. We’ve just got to keep building.”

The spotlight has been on LaVine in the three weeks since his interest in a trade was originally reported. LaVine hasn’t just missed three games since then — he scored 13 or fewer points in three games and appeared detached from his duties on defense.

The Bulls will now face another critical stretch without their highest-paid star as they attempt to dig out of an 8-14 hole.