Paul Zipser had the latest instance of a secret Bulls offseason surgery

Chicago Bulls forward Paul Zipser just had surgery on his foot.

Our very own Vijay Vemu was the first to notice a post on Zipser’s Instagram page where the German wrote “surgery went well, time to work” as a caption for a picture of him giving a thumbs up on a hospital bed. The location tag on the Instagram post is in Tubingen, Germany.

Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson confirmed later that Zipser had underwent foot surgery. This timeline is reminiscent of Denzel Valentine’s procedure last offseason, where his ankle surgery was discovered on social media before any reporting or Bulls PR.

Beginning Feb. 24, Zipser missed most of the rest of the regular season with reoccurring left foot issues described on the injury report as “left foot pain.” He played just 54 games last season. There’s been no confirmation yet on which foot the surgery was on.

After showing glimpses of promise in his first year as a Bull, Zipser mostly struggled in year two. Advanced metrics were particularly critical of his performance as he finished near the bottom of the league in player impact estimate (NBA.com stat), net rating, and true shooting percentage.

Zipser wasn’t good last season (though how much did this foot injury impact his performance?), and although he’s only 24 years old he’s an extremely expendable piece on a team that needs an upgrade at the small forward position anyway. Zipser’s non-guaranteed $1.5 million contract for the upcoming season becomes fully guaranteed if the Bulls don’t waive him by July 18.