Injuries are part and parcel of any game and when the game moves as fast as basketball, it is inevitable that players will be sitting out some games during the season. Teams have to manage their squad effectively and the medical teams at the NBA clubs are amongst the hardest working people in sport. Sometimes though, some players pick up injuries that can’t be resolved quickly. When this happens, players are facing up to some of their hardest days and weeks as a professional basketball player and the sad part of it is that none of their time is spent on the basketball court.
This is the immediate focus for Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. The club has confirmed that Rose has to undergo surgery for the injury he suffered to his right knee on Monday the 18th of November. The proper term for the injury is a “torn medial meniscus” and there are very genuine fears that Rose will now be out for the remainder of the season. This is a massive blow for the player but as you can imagine, it is a huge blow for the club.
This is not the first time that Derrick Rose has had a serious injury. The player has also undergone surgery for a torn left anterior cruciate ligament. That injury took a lot of hard work and effort to bounce back from but Rose has shown that he can do that. However, he now has to show that he can do it all over again by bouncing back from his latest injury setback. The surgery on his right knee will be carried out by Brian Cole, who is the physician for the Bulls. It was Cole who performed the surgery for Rose the last time and the club will be hoping that this surgery is as successful as the last time. However, given that this is to be the second long-term rehabilitation project that Rose has been landed with in the past two years.
Player and club looking for a complete recovery
Although there has been no official timeline announced for when the club would hope to have Rose back with them, it is expected to be a long time. Media sources close to Rose and the Bulls are intimating that everyone is looking to have the meniscus reattached. There is a focus on a long-term healing solution as opposed to just rushing the player back. This may have a negative impact on this season for the Bulls but for the player and club, it should be seen as the best long-term decision.
If the surgery is a success, it will certainly have appositive impact on Rose’s long-term career prospects but this sort of surgery is likely to rule the player out for at least a further six months compared to some of the more short term solutions that could help the player get back on his feet. With respect to the injury timeline, things will become a lot clearer after the surgery is carried out.
The biggest tragedy for Rose and the Bulls is that he has managed to play just 11 games on his comeback trail from his previous major injury. The injury and recovery time from his surgery work on his left knee means that Rose is looking at only playing 50 games over the course of three seasons. This is a major disappointment for fans that fully believed in the player and of course for the club that has backed their player fully.
Physical and mental rehabilitation is required
However, the biggest setback and disappointment will lie with Rose himself. To work so hard to come back from a serious injury only to find that you are struck by another serious injury could have a psychological impact. This is where there will be a lot of mental work required alongside the physical rehabilitation. It may well be that Derrick Rose needs to believe in himself once again, which is sometimes the more difficult part of the process. The body has a wonderful knack of healing but at times the mind needs more work. This is where the Bulls need to ensure that they are fully supportive of Rose and his attempts to get back to full fitness.
There is also the fact that the Bulls are going to have to respond in a positive manner to this injury. The season is still very much in its infancy with much to play for. The loss of a player is always a blow for a team, but the loss of a team-mate may have an impact on the rest of the Bulls squad. There is going to need to be an attitude that they are going to achieve success to boost Derrick as opposed to allowing themselves to wallow about their team-mate suffering another serious injury. Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague are going to have to step up and take on the mantle for the team and everyone at the Bulls will need to stick together in the weeks and months ahead.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...