Blogs.Bulls.com

Rose improving and optimistic about returning soon

by

Feb 14

Though he hasn’t announced a specific timeframe for when he might return to action, Derrick Rose is confident that his lower back issues will not be a long-term problem and he hopes to be playing again as early as a couple days.

“Right now, every day, it’s improving,” said Rose prior to Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. “I saw someone [Monday], [they] stretched me out. Every day I’m getting better, so I’m just trying to stay positive. Of course, it’s killing me not to be out there with my teammates, but I should be back soon.”

While it’s reassuring for the Bulls to know Rose is getting better, he still has a little progress yet to make before the team will be comfortable putting him back out on the floor. And given what Rose has experienced, he’ll be just fine with that.

“I really can’t explain it,” said Rose. “Unless you have back problems, you don’t know. It’s just tight, where you can’t move. And when you move, and when you get going, the tightness turns to pain. Of course, I can’t move or walk, or things like that. But, it’s getting better. Today I shot earlier, didn’t move that much. Hopefully [Wednesday] I’ll be running, and see how it feels, then we’ll go from there.”

While Rose visited both an orthopaedic specialist and chiropractor on Monday, it’s not the doctor’s advice or consultation that will determine how soon he’ll return. Rather, it comes down to Rose.

“They don’t know how I feel,” said Rose of the doctors. “It’s up to me. Every day it’s getting better. I just tell them how I feel. They’ll stretch me more. Hopefully that calms everything down.”

Perhaps the most important news that came out of Monday’s visits was that the diagnosis of back spasms was confirmed. No structural damage to Rose’s back was revealed, a relief to Rose and the team.

“I was worried about it at first, knowing that I didn’t know where it came from,” Rose said of the back pain. “And they said something about my toe being the [reason] I’m having pain in my back. So [I’m] getting my toe right. My toe doesn’t have any pain in it. And hopefully my back shouldn’t have pain in it.”

Just as importantly, Rose does not believe that this current injury will have any lasting effect on his career.

“Right now, I shouldn’t have any problems in the long run,” he said. “This back thing should be behind me in a couple of days. I should be back out there in a couple of days. I’ll take my time and be smart and make sure I’m stretching.”

When asked if he might be able to return for Thursday’s home game against Boston, Rose didn’t rule it out, but didn’t sound optimistic, either.

“I can’t give you a certain date or let you know when I’m going to be back. But it should be shortly,” said Rose, who added that he hasn’t thought about whether or not he’ll be a go for the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando on Feb. 26.

As for discussions Rose has had with Bulls management, they don’t plan on rushing the reigning NBA MVP’s return and will get him back in the mix once he is ready.

“They just told me to take my time,” said Rose. “If anything, they’re worried about my health. That’s with everybody. Just talked to Thibs, that’s what he was worried about. But right now, we’re just trying to stay positive. We’re not in a bad position. I think we have a winning record, so everything is all right.”

Audio—Bulls guard Derrick Rose talks about his lower back, the pain he has experienced and how he is progressing (02.14.2012):

What do you think? Leave a comment below: