His return delayed further despite being given clearance to play.
According to ESPN’s Doris Burke, the latest niggle keeping Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose from returning to the court are his hamstrings.
Rose spoke before the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night and reportedly told Burke his hamstring are “on fire” after workouts.
Despite returning to full contact practices for well over a month and receiving medical clearance to play, the 24-year-old says he will not return until he has overcome the latest issue.
Reports also suggested that another major factor in Rose’s decision to delay his return is his lack of confidence to dunk off his surgically repaired left knee.
However, as they have done throughout his rehabilitation, the Bulls have stressed their patience with the situation, and will wait for Rose to decide when he is ready to return in order to avoid any setbacks.
Coach Tom Thibodeau will hope to see him return sooner rather than later though, as his team fell to their 11th loss in their last 18 games on Sunday night.
While it is highly unlikely that they will slip out of play-off contention, Chicago are gradually slipping down the Eastern Conference standings and are just 2.5 games ahead of eighth spot.
With just over a month of the regular season remaining, they will hope that Rose will play some part in order to regain his feel for the court ahead of the play-offs.
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