The Chicago Bulls got a break, if you can even call it that. After Jimmy Butler injured his elbow at beginning of the second half of the Bulls' Sunday game, there were fears that the All-Star guard would require surgery. Following an MRI Monday, a league source said Butler would not require surgery to repair the injury, ESPNChicago reports.

The breakout star was diagnosed with a Grade 2/3-ulnar-ligament sprain and a small bone impaction injury, which he suffered when he collided with the Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan.

Butler is expected to miss three to six weeks. According to the ESPN report, the hope within Butler's camp is that the combination of rest and treatment will enable the two-way guard to return to action before the regular season ends.

The Bulls are already without Derrick Rose for four to six weeks after having surgery on his right meniscus last Friday. They have also been playing sans bruiser Taj Gibson, who is in a walking boot after spraining the ankle that has bothered him all season. Pau Gasol has also been playing through illness.

As Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago points out, there's a very good chance the Bulls will be without the trio of Rose, Butler, and Gibson for most of the month.

"I guess when it rains, it pours," veteran guard Kirk Hinrich said, "We can't sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Nobody else is going to. We've got to find a way."

Echoed Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, "It's the nature of the league. No one's going to feel sorry for us. We just got to get out there and we got to get it done."

Butler, a first time All-Star this season, is averaging 20.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 55 games for the Bulls this season.