Thibodeau says Rose is “most likely” out of the play-offs.
Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has revealed it is unlikely that Derrick Rose will return in the play-offs, but is keeping the door open if the situation changes.
Rose sat on the bench with his team-mates during the loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, but is still not ready to make a comeback from his torn ACL.
The 24-year-old suffered the injury on April 28 last year, in the first game of the opening round play-off series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Having missed the entire regular season, there were hopes that the explosive point guard would be able to return for the Bulls play-off push, but it doesn’t appear that Thibodeau is holding out too much hope.
“He’s most likely out but you never know,” he told the media ahead of the 106-89 loss in Brooklyn as reported by ESPN.
“The play-offs are stretched out, too, so you have to factor that in. So who knows another week from now where he is? You always want to leave that possibility open,” he added.
The Bulls were able to call on both Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah on Saturday night, with both coming back from troubling injuries. Gibson had suffered a sprained MCL, while Noah is dealing with plantar fasciitis, however despite their presence on the court they were unable to prevent the loss.
Thibodeau added that the stance over Rose’s situation will not change, and the organisation is not rushing him back into action.
“It’s going to be the same. We’re not going to change that, It’s gone this far so we’ll see, we’ll see if he can improve.”
When asked about whether he would be hesitant over putting Rose straight back into the starting line-up, Thibodeau replied: “That’d be fine. Whenever he can come back, he comes back,” he concluded.
Having received medical clearance to return to the court, the issue still surrounds Rose overcoming the mental barriers that are hindering him. Speculation suggests that he is still not fully comfortable with his knee, and the wait continues to see him return to action.
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