We don’t know. There’s been a ton of speculation about the future of Derrick Rose — Is this injury not as severe? Is he headed down the path of Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway? — but the fact is we don’t know much about the severity of the injury. We don’t know recovery timetables.
But we will learn a lot about that Friday.
That’s when Rose will undergo this third knee surgery, the Bulls announced. More interestingly the Bulls said Rose would undergo a meniscectomy, which is a removal of part or all of the meniscus. That method is faster for recovery and means it is possible Rose could be back for part or all of the playoffs. However, we will not have a recovery timetable until after the surgery is complete.
Even if Rose could come back for the playoffs, it’s up for debate if he can lift them up much farther. First, he would just be coming back from surgery and — as we have seen with Rose recently and many other athletes before him — it takes a while for the player to trust that knee fully again. Rose and the other Bulls would have to re-adjust to playing together and do it under a much tougher circumstance, and much more pressure (on the court and off).
But we’ll know a lot more Friday.
