Bulls guard Coby White expected to make season debut Sunday vs. Jazz: Source

SALT LAKE CITY — Chicago Bulls guard Coby White is expected to make his season debut Sunday night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, a team spokesperson confirmed to The Athletic.

White, who’s been recovering from a calf strain sustained in August, initially garnered optimism for a return to the lineup around the Bulls’ season opener. After suffering a setback, Chicago’s medical staff requested several additional weeks for White to strengthen his calf and monitor any tightness that might stem from the stop-start movements involved in his recovery process.

After appropriate progress in his recovery, White returned to practice this week over three days between games. Following practice, White expressed that he felt fine and that the muscle felt stronger than it did before the injury — all of which further signaled a return during this three-game road trip beginning in Utah, which coach Billy Donovan circled as a target window.

White and Donovan outlined a minutes restriction somewhere between 20 to 24 minutes in the guard’s return. Sunday’s game is the first of a back-to-back, with the second leg in Denver on Monday. As the Bulls ease him back into the lineup, White isn’t expected to play Monday, though it’s likely he could return to the court when the Bulls play in Portland on Wednesday. Chicago begins a stretch of five games in seven days on Sunday.

Without White, who averaged 24.5 points and 4.3 assists in 26 games following February’s All-Star break and took home Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors in March, the Bulls have begun 6-5 this season. Chicago has lost five of its last six after a 5-0 start. In three of those finishes — against Milwaukee, Cleveland and San Antonio — the Bulls yearned for a player capable of helping close games offensively.