Speculating Derrick Rose’s Return

Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

After spending a lengthy stint in the Chicago Bulls rehab facility, Derrick Rose may be returning to the NBa hardwood sooner than expected.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported that head coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose is close to playing full contact. The news is another bright spot for the Bulls who are currently fairing quite well without the former league MVP. In fact, the team has tallied a 25-16 record, placing them in fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Rose tore his ACL in the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. The injury required surgery, performed by Dr. Brian Cole, and an extensive eight-to-12-month rehab regimen that has carried over into the 2012-13 season.

In recent weeks, Rose has joined the team during their travels and has participated in non-contact one-on-one drills. He indicated that there was no setbacks from his on-court practices this past week. If and when he is able to participate in full contact drills, it give us a better timeframe of when he is able to return to Bulls lineup.

The recent recovery of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has rewritten the book on recoveries from ACL tears. The six-year pro returned from his career-threatening injury ahead of schedule and has performed up to an MVP-caliber level once again. Peterson’s healthy return has given rise to the Chicago faithful who hope to see Rose back to normal this season.

If Rose is able to return earlier in his 8-to-twelve-month timetable, it would give them that much longer to regain some momentum heading into the postseason. Especially considering the Bulls may need to ease him back into the starting lineup for a few weeks before he can really get his feet under him and feel comfortable cutting and jumping off his injured leg.

Though there has been no set target date for his return, we can just as easily speculate. If his surgery was performed on May 12, it is reasonable to expect a nine month recovery with some more advanced medical attention. That would slot him in to a mid-February return, which in turn, would give the Bulls a full two months to absorb Rose back into their gameplan.

For the sake of basketball, we hope to see him at full strength come the 2013 playoffs.