Derrick Rose Out Indefinitely With Meniscus Tear In Right Knee
(CBS) Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a medial meniscus tear in his right knee, the team announced late Tuesday evening. Rose will have surgery, after which a timeline for his return will be determined.
Rose reported the knee pain Tuesday, the team said.
It's the third major knee problem for Rose since April 2012, when he first tore his left ACL in a playoff game. Rose missed all of the 2012-'13 season with that injury, then tore his right medial meniscus in November 2013, less than a month into that new season.
The last time Rose had surgery for his meniscus tear, he and the team decided to completely fix the tear and keep the meniscus, which generally preserves better long-term health for the knee. The other option is to remove the torn portion of the meniscus, which has a quicker timeline for recovery but doesn't generally preserve long-term stability as well.
The initial belief is that this meniscus tear isn't as extensive as the one Rose suffered in November 2013, the Tribune's K.C. Johnson reported.
Rose "didn't do a lot" in Tuesday's practice because of general lower body soreness, coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier in the day. At that point, Thibodeau expected Rose to play in Wednesday's home game against the Hornets. It's unclear when exactly Rose suffered the injury.
In Monday's win against the Bucks, Rose matched his career-worst shooting performance with a 1-for-13 effort. He played until the final minutes of the blowout and gave no indication in a postgame interview that he was hurt.
In an up-and-down return to the Bulls this season, Rose is averaging 18.4 points and 5.0 assists per game on 40.7 percent shooting. He's played in 46 of Chicago's 57 games.
In the past four years, Rose has played in a total of 95 of Chicago's 287 regular-season games.
The sad news comes as a devastating blow to the Bulls, who hold championship aspirations and at 36-21 sit in third place in the Eastern Conference.
Rose's injury also will raise questions about the future path of the organization. He's under contract through the end of the 2017 season with a salary that limits the other moves Chicago can make. Rose will make $20.1 million in 2015-'16 and $21.3 million in 2016-'17.
When asked earlier Tuesday about Rose's recent inconsistent play, Thibodeau said he expected "bumps" in the road.
"This isn't the first comeback — it was bumpy last year," Thibodeau said, referring to Rose playing 10 early season games before tearing his right medial meniscus in November 2013. "When you miss the amount of time he's missed, there's going to be some bumps in the road. I want him to have the mental toughness to get through it, just go on to the next game. You learn from each situation. He had a great rhythm going before the (All-Star) break. He'll get right back to it."
Players from around the NBA shared their best wishes for Rose's recovery.
Man feel bad for D.Rose! Keep your head up homie and stay strong G!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 25, 2015
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