The Chicago Bulls are surprisingly in a battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the All-Star break approaching. As of right now the Bulls sit in the seventh spot in the East but they are just 1.5 games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets who are in ninth. The Bulls are clinging to a playoff spot and they received some bad news that will hurt their chances to retain it as Jimmy Butler is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a knee injury, according to NBA.com.

Butler initially hurt his knee a little over a week ago in a game against the Utah Jazz but he only missed one game because of that injury. In his first game back though, Butler hurt the knee worse than before and had to be carted off the court. There were reports after the game that Butler hyperextended his knee and might have to only miss a game or two, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, but that hasn't been the case as he has missed the last three games and will miss a bunch more as well.  

The official injury to Butler is still just considered a knee strain and he didn't suffer any ligament damage but he still needs about a month of rest to be able to play again. Butler has reportedly already begun rehabbing the injury and will continue to engage in activities depending on how his body feels. Butler's primary goal is to maintain his conditioning while he is out which won't be so easy considering the injury is to his leg. 

Butler previously had told the media that he was feeling much better on Monday afternoon and that the All-Star break might be long enough to get him on the court. The doctors clearly don't agree with him here but based on his work ethic it shouldn't surprise anyone if he returns on the low end of that timetable. 

This is a huge blow to the Bulls as they will be without their best offensive and defenivse player for critical games down the stretch while they are fighting for a playoff spot. The best case scenario seems to be that Butler will return in the beginning of March at which point he will have a little more than a month to help maintain the team's position or makeup some ground. 

Butler will also be missing the All-Star game as a result of the injury. The 26-year-old guard was selected as an All-Star reserve for the East this year and it would have been his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance. Butler will be replaced by teammate Pau Gasol in the All-Star game, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.