Derrick Rose’s Doctor On Next Year: “He Could Miss Entire Season”

When Derrick Rose took an awkward fall in the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ first playoff game this year, and was sprawled out on the United Center floor grabbing at his knee, Chicago fans knew their season was through. What they didn’t know, or couldn’t know at the time, is that next year might be over before it even begins. The doctor who performed surgery on Rose’s left knee, team physician Dr. Brian Cole, spoke with the media yesterday about what to expect from Rose next season. Not all of it was encouraging.

The surgery went quite well, and Cole believes Rose will eventually return as the MVP player he was before the fall. But despite that, Cole cautioned that this injury will take time, and by that he meant it could be eight to 12 months before Rose is back, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

There’s also the possibility that we won’t see Rose at all in 2012-13. Cole told the paper, “He could miss entire season.”

In a separate article, The Chicago Sun-Times also wrote:

The doctor who performed the successful surgery to repair Rose’s isolated ACL tear and a meniscus tear Saturday morning at Rush University Medical Center said some athletes take longer to recover for reasons that can be physiological as well as psychological.

“There’s no question that happens,” Dr. Brian Cole said. “People ask why don’t you get back to pre-injury level. In some cases, there’s just a level of confidence that they just don’t get, which is why we emphasize it so much during rehab, to help train an individual that it’s safe to do this.”

The Bulls aren’t counting on Rose returning next season. They aren’t even planning for it. But general manager Gar Forman said he will keep the core of a team that had the league’s best regular-season record in consecutive seasons together with an eye toward the future.

The plan is for Rose to start running in about four months, and basketball activities will follow. From there, Chicago is hopefully he can start practicing in January. But that’s only a prediction, and with an injury like this, the question “Is he ready?” is never totally answered until Rose gets back on the court, until he actually proves it to himself.

Whenever the former MVP does return, hopefully there are no lasting repercussions.

H/T IamaGM.com

What are you expecting from Rose next year?

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