It sucks to see Derrick Rose injured again but we’ve seen this “will he or won’t he return” play out twice before and both times he went will the latter. This surgery was however much simpler than the ones prior and will require significantly less rehab. Rose was in good spirits when he addressed reporters on Monday and though he isn’t certain when he will return, he’s optimistic that it will be this season.
“That’s the plan,” Rose said. “Whenever I feel right, that’s when I’m going to step back.”
Rose underwent surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee—the same knee he injured last year—and the Bulls put his timeline for a return at four to six weeks. The next day, he started rehab. It’s been a gradual process since then. He still can’t jump, but he’s focusing on conditioning.
“Right now it’s all about just getting the most out of all my rehabs,” Rose said. “Every day, getting the most out of every day, like I said. And making sure my mental is healthy.”
The Bulls are dealing with a bevy of injuries to key players right now, with Jimmy Butler (elbow) and Taj Gibson (ankle) also missing time. The Bulls need all of those players healthy in order to be a serious title contender, and they know that. But Rose is taking his time and not focusing too much on the playoffs right now.
“We haven’t talked about it,” he said. “But I think all the players that’s injured know how good we are once we come back and everybody’s healthy, but that’s something that we haven’t talked about because they’ve been on the road.”
We know reporters are going to continue to ask Rose when he’s returning but he’s learned how to answer those questions and not place undue expectations on himself or significantly raise hopes about when he’ll be back.
