Bulls' Rose expects to return in 1-2 weeks: 'I don't have any pain'
If there was any doubt about whether Derrick Rose would make it back from his latest knee injury this season, the Chicago Bulls star point guard squashed it while speaking to reporters Wednesday morning.
Rose on whether he's confident he'll play this season: "Oh yeah. I'm not worried about that. I don't have any pain."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 25, 2015
According to NBA TV's Kristen Ledlow, Rose anticipates a return to the lineup sometime in the next week or two. He's yet to be cleared for contact, but expects to be given the green light by next week.
Rose, who last played Feb. 23, underwent surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his right knee Feb. 27, and was given an estimated recovery time of four-to-six weeks.
The 26-year-old underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee last season after missing nearly a year-and-a-half of action due to tearing his left ACL during the 2012 playoffs.
Rose is averaging 18.4 points, five assists and 3.1 rebounds on a true shooting percentage of 49.6 in 31 minutes per game.
The Bulls enter Wednesday's matchup with the Toronto Raptors sitting third in the Eastern Conference at 43-29. More importantly, they're finally getting healthy again, as Jimmy Butler (elbow) returned from an 11-game absence on Monday while Taj Gibson (ankle) returned from a 10-game absence last week.