Luol Deng hospitalised with suspected meningitis
The Chicago Bulls and Great Britain forward, Luol Deng tweeted last night from hospital after signs that earlier flu-like symptoms during the week could in fact be much worse than first thought.
He hit back at those claiming he could have possibly played whilst being under the weather, where Nate Robinson also missed Thursday’s game: “It really upsets me that everyone thinks I would miss a game because of the flu. I’ve played a lot of games with the flu in my career.”
Continuing to explain the situation on the social media site, he said: “On Wednesday I was taken to the ER and my symptoms indicated I may have meningitis. In order to play on Thursday, I was required to undergo a spinal tap [lumbar puncture].
Lumbar punctures are often carried out if meningitis is a possibility, but does not necessarily mean a patient has the condition. However, side effects such as severe headaches often occur as a result of taking a sample of fluid to be tested; something that Deng has now suffered with.
“Yesterday I was unable to walk or even get out of bed,” Deng carried on tweeting, “I made it to the UC and was sent home. This morning my symptoms worsened. Now I’m back in the ER where I may have to spend the night. I want my teammates and Bulls fans to know I would NEVER miss a game because of flu.
Ever determined though, if it is found to be nothing more than an extreme case of influenza, he is adamant to fly over for the final deciding game of the series against Brooklyn Nets: “If I’m medically cleared I will fly to NY to be with my team and try to win game 7.”
