Bulls' Rose Out Indefinitely With Torn Right Meniscus
By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 24, 2013 5:15PM
Image via NBA.com screengrab.
The news on Derrick Rose’s latest injury is as bad as some Bulls fans were expecting. An MRI revealed a medial meniscus tear in Rose’s right knee which will require surgery and sideline the former NBA MVP indefinitely. Bulls historian Sam Smith confirmed the news Saturday and laid out Rose’s surgical options.
There’s a relatively short-term possibility involving a cutting or shaving where a player can return within weeks or a month or so, like then Laker Ron Artest did last season. More common is to repair the damage like the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook had done and he returned in November at a high level of play after being out almost seven months. That generally is the process recommended to younger players. And Dwyane Wade told Miami reporters in training camp he regretted not following that process when he had the surgery in college and suggested it had contributed to his knee problems during his career.
If Rose opts for completely repairing the damage his season is over and will mark a bittersweet end to his comeback from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that robbed Rose of his 2012-13 season. Thankfully for Rose, a meniscus tear isn’t as catastrophic as rebuilding an ACL but there is reason for concern the injury could shorten Rose’s playing career.
The medial meniscus, according to Wikipedia, “separates the tibia and femur to decrease the contact area between the bones, and serves as a shock absorber reducing the peak contact force experienced. It also reduces friction between the two bones to allow smooth movement in the knee and distribute load during movement.”
A meniscus tear usually accompanies an ACL or PCL injury which is why the Bulls and Rose are counting since the MRI didn’t find evidence of further injury. In addition to Artest and Westbrook, Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a meniscus injury that kept him out of the 2012 London Olympics; he was ready for the regular season. Portland All-Star guard Brandon Roy also had surgery to repair his meniscus and was criticized because he returned to the court eight days after surgery.
Rose’s injury compounds the Bulls’ growing list of wounded players. Shooting guard Jimmy Butler is week-to-week with a turf toe injury. Kirk Hinrich will move into the starting lineup in place of Rose while Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell and Marquis Teague will see added minutes to fill the void.
Rose was averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 31.1 minutes before the injury but hadn’t consistently displayed the above the rim game that earned him a place on the NBA’s marketing machine and all-star nods, and it was clear he was slowly working his way back into game form.
Here's video of the injury, via Sports Illustrated.