Bulls point guard Derrick Rose suffered a medial meniscus tear on Friday night in Portland, and will have surgery on Monday in Chicago, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Sources also say he’s “leaning” towards reattaching the meniscus, rather than shaving the meniscus off, which means he’ll be gone for the rest of the season.
After MRI tests in Los Angeles on Saturday revealed the torn medial meniscus, the next question was which surgery Rose would have. Chicago Bulls’ team physician Brian Cole — who performed the surgery to repair Rose’s torn ACL in 2012 — will helm the surgery, but it’s still not clear which surgery Rose will have. He appears inclined towards the safer route for his body and the worst option for Chicago’s title chances this season, which is as it should be.
Thibodeau said how long Rose is out won’t be determined until Cole performs the surgery. But two sources close to the process indicated Rose’s camp is leaning toward having Rose’s meniscus reattached. While this is better for Rose’s long-term career, it also means a lengthier rehabilitation process of up to six months.
That would mean Rose would miss the remainder of the regular season.
That last point is the crux of the problem with reattaching the meniscus, rather than shaving it down. After missing the entire 2012-13 season recovering from his ACL tear he suffered in the opening game of the 2012 Playoffs, Rose will be recovering from another major surgery — to his opposite knee — less than a year after being cleared to play full-contact basketball.
While shaving the meniscus down would allow Rose to come back in 1-2 months, it would also place his long-term health in question. Dwyane Wade had his meniscus taken out while in college at Marquette and told Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick he regrets the decision since he’s suffered lingering knee issues since the operation:
“It was 13 years ago, so technology was a little different,” Wade said. “When it was taken out, it was the thing to get me back on the court quick, but it wasn’t a long-term type of thing, so it opened me up to having some knee trouble. The only thing you do, the doctor that you choose, they give you the best advice.”
Did Wade have any say in the decision to take it out rather than repair it?
“No, I wasn’t educated, I didn’t know anything,” Wade said. “I just knew it was hurting, and I wanted it fixed. That was after my first year at Marquette, and I never dealt with any injury until that time. So it was all new to me. And I just wanted to get back on the court.”
Rose wants back on the court, too, but at what cost? Should be jeopardize the rest of his career just to get back on the court with the Bulls this season? Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau seems confident with or without Rose, so we don’t think anyone is rushing him to remove the meniscus rather than — the more complicated, but safer — reattachment.
“We’re hoping for the best,” Thibodeau said. “We of course feel very badly for Derrick. I talked to him at length (Saturday) night. He’s in good spirits, about as well as can be expected under the circumstances. And he’s already thinking about his rehab. Typical Derrick, he’s concerned about his team, his teammates.
“That being said, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’re the Chicago Bulls. We have one goal and that’s to win. I believe we have the personnel in that locker room to get it done.”
While Thibodeau’s confidence in his Bulls team is commendable, the Bulls were long shots to win the title this year even with Rose, and their chances just got significantly worse now that it appears he’s done for the season.
This is just dreadful, but if there’s anyone that can come back from his second major knee surgery in as many years, it’s South Side’s Derrick Rose.
Keep your head up man, we’re all rooting for you now.
What do you think is Rose’s best surgery option?
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