USA TODAY :: Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will miss the rest of the 2013-14 season after having surgery Monday to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
The timetable on Rose’s absence indicates he had the meniscus repaired and reattached and not removed or partially removed. Reparation is the preferred surgical option, but rehabilitation and recovery takes longer. The meniscus acts as a cushion for knee bones, and without, the chance of early arthritis and other problems increase.
“You want to save what’s there. My guess is that you want to prolong the longevity of the career,” orthopedic surgeon Alexis Colvin told USA TODAY Sports. She is an associate professor of orthopedics and a surgeon at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Rehab and recovery time for a repaired meniscus is 3-6 months, and it is well-documented that Rose took his time returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained in his left knee during the 2012 NBA playoffs.
The surgery was performed by team physicians Brian Cole, who was part of the team who repaired Rose’s left ACL, and Chuck Bush Joseph at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Rose, who missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL, sustained the injury in Friday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. It happened when he made a backdoor cut to the basket. The pass to Rose was stolen by Portland’s Nicolas Batum and as Rose turned to go back on defense, his right knee buckled as he planted on his left foot.
“Like Bulls fans everywhere, I was heartbroken when I heard of Derrick’s injury,” Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf said Monday evening in a news release. “We are happy to know that, according to his doctors, his surgery was successful, and in time, Derrick is expected to make a full recovery. Everyone at the Bulls knows firsthand how extremely hard Derrick worked to return to the court this year, and I have no doubt he will do the same with regards to his recovery from this injury. Despite Derrick’s absence, this is still a good team. I know from last year, this team and coaching staff will continue to make our fans proud.”
It’s another disappointing loss for the Bulls. Rose is one of league’s most popular players — not among fans, but among players, too — as just as the NBA celebrated his return, it is lamenting his absence. Rose has been out of the lineup more often than he has been in it the past three seasons. When this season is over, Rose will have played in just 50 games in the past three seasons.
“We of course feel very badly for Derrick,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told news reporters Sunday before the Bulls’ ugly 121-82 road loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. “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 and typical Derrick, concerned about his team (and) his teammates.”
