Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose revealed that his latest rehabilitation after knee surgery was “hell” but that has been overcome by the joy of being back.
READ MORE:
Rose leads Bulls to win: (Video) Welcome sight for Chicago fans ahead of playoffs.
Rose and Noah to have minutes limit lifted: Pair will be play as much as possible in post-season.
Rose scores nine points in return: (Video) Bulls star shows some early aggression.
Rose underwent a meniscectomy on February 27, and has spent the last six weeks in rehab trying to return ahead of the playoffs with his teammates needing him for a championship push.
While he remained non-committal on his return despite the franchise putting in place a timetable of between four and six weeks for his return, the 26-year-old has successfully returned from his third knee surgery in three years.
“Hell,” Rose said, to describe his most recent experience, according to ESPN.
“Hell, because you got to do rehab over again. Waking up at 7:30 every day, being there before practice, two hours before practice, beating everybody to the training room. When you arrive to the city, you have damn near two or three workouts every day. So the game, that’s kind of easy for sure.”
Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2012 and then the medial meniscus in his right knee in November 2013. He suffered another meniscus injury in right knee earlier this year, but this time round his return has been swift as he has immediately got back into the swing of things since returning to the court.
While the Bulls star has repeatedly insisted how happy he is to be playing this time round and has constantly praised his teammates for allowing him to seamlessly fit back in, he will be itching to play his first playoff game in three years.
“It will be fun. But at the same time, I’m just happy to be playing the game. I’m just happy to be on the floor. This is my life, I dedicated so much to this sport. … I’m happy where it took not only me, but my family and friends. And I’m just appreciative right now.”
Rose’s numbers have been gradually increasing since his comeback, and the suggestions are that he will have his minutes limit lifted for the playoffs along with teammate Joakim Noah which will be a huge boost for coach Tom Thibodeau who will hope to finally deliver a title to Chicago this year.
COMMENTS