Bulls team surgeon Dr. Brian Cole provided an assessment of Derrick Rose's recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"While he will hopefully be at a very high level in 12 months, it still may take slightly longer to be at his pre-injury level," Cole said. "That's not uncommon in athletes of this caliber."
"Lots of athletes come back and play at a high level but not necessarily initially at the level they were pre-injury. Some get it at six months. Some get it at eight. It might take three years. It depends on the muscle physiology, confidence issues. All that plays a part."
Cole won't recommend that Rose sit out the entire 2012-13 season.
"There's actually a lot of therapeutic benefit to starting with early minutes when it's safe," Cole said. "You have to play to play. All these muscle patterns have to kick in. You can do that off the court informally. But there's a lot of benefit to playing. Whether he has to go 40 minutes, that's a whole different story. Just getting out there and playing when he's able, that's when his exponential growth is going to come.
"The good news is he's an incredible athlete. The other good news is he's an unbelievably hard worker who wants this more than anything. We're not going to rush him. The most important thing is all of us feel comfortable based on specific parameters that he's ready to go as we advance him. If he's not ready, we just delay. If he's ready, we move him to the next stage."
