ESPN.com - Rose Timeline: How we arrived at this point

ESPN.com: Bulls

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Rose Timeline: How we arrived at this point

By Staff


	Few thought the Derrick Rose ACL timeline would last this long without a return, but that's reality.

Here is a timeline of Derrick Rose's year since tearing his ACL.

April 28, 2012: With 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Bulls' Eastern Conference quarterfinals opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose drives into the lane and jump-stops before trying to elevate for a shot. But he crumples to the ground, holding his left knee. The diagnosis of a torn ACL soon follows. Some wonder if he should have been on the court that late in a game with a 12-point lead, especially considering the injuries he suffered earlier in the season. The Bulls win the game but lose the series to the eighth-seeded Sixers.

May 12, 2012: Rose undergoes surgery at Rush University Medical Center by team physician Brian Cole. His brother Reggie Rose says the surgery went great.

May 15, 2012: The Bulls conduct a press conference to discuss Rose's surgery, and Cole says: "We're at this point very optimistic. ... We think of recovery as the long process that's in stages. But the short answer is the time frame we believe an athlete of this caliber generally requires is about eight to 12 months. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer."

June 20, 2012: Rose consults a trainer in Dr. James Andrews' office in Birmingham, Ala. GM Gar Forman says on the team's website that: "Derrick Rose is doing terrific. He's been diligent in his rehab. He's made tremendous progress to this point. The surgery obviously was a huge success. The biggest thing that has been encouraging about Derrick has been his mentality towards the rehab. He's working each and every day, putting a lot of effort into it. We're optimistic that if he continues to make the kind of progress that he has that we will see Derrick back on the floor at some point next season."

July 12, 2012: Reggie Rose says his brother is rehabbing in California.

July 20, 2012: A YouTube video featuring Rose is posted. In his first comments since the surgery, Rose says: "Hopefully you'll see me back out there. My biggest concern is don't worry about me. I know I'm going to be all right. I know that I'm healthy, I'm positive, I believe in God, so I should be back there on the court soon, and I hope that you support not only me but the Bulls."

Aug. 11, 2012: Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf with Rose that he made with Michael Jordan in 1986. "I'm not going to let him back until the doctors tell me that it's absolutely safe for him to come back," Reinsdorf says on ESPN 1000's "Talking Baseball." "I made that mistake with Michael Jordan years ago where I think we let him come back too soon. It worked out OK, but it might not have. This time I'm not going to make that mistake. Until the doctors say he's 100 percent and they put their reputations on the line, he's not coming back."

Aug. 15, 2012: Rose says: "I'm definitely two or three weeks ahead of where I'm supposed to be, but that still (doesn't) help the part healing-wise. I've still got to take that time off for my leg to heal."

Sept. 14, 2012: Rose cries during an adidas promotional event. He says: "My recovery has been good, where (I'm) rehabbing every day, five times out of the week." He reveals he and his girlfriend are expecting a child.

Oct. 4, 2012: Forman goes on ESPN Chicago 1000 and says: "It's still too early to pinpoint an exact time when he'll be back, but everything as of right now is right on schedule, and he's doing terrific. And when he's ready to step on the floor when he's at 100 percent he'll be back on the floor, and we're optimistic he'll be back at some point this year."

Nov. 12, 2012: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says Rose has started cutting, which Rose said was the next milestone in his recovery.

Dec. 3, 2012: Rose adds short sprints to the list of things he's accomplished in rehab on his road back to the floor. "I think he looks really good," Joakim Noah says. "He looks great, actually."

Jan. 2, 2013: Rose makes his first trip with the team for a game in Orlando.

“
It's frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him.
” -- Reggie Rose

Jan. 31, 2013: Thibodeau says Rose is taking full contact. "It's just the next step, and he's got to continue the things that he's been doing and the team has to continue to focus on our improvement and our opponent, and then at some point he'll be ready to go. But he still has some time to go. Everyone has to be patient, but it's good to have him around."

Feb. 13, 2013: The possibility that Rose will miss the entire season surfaces for the first time when Rose tells USA Today, "I don't have a set date. I'm not coming back until I'm 110 percent. Who knows when that can be? It can be within a couple of weeks. It could be next year. It could be any day. It could be any time." Asked how close he is to 110 percent, Rose estimated "in the high 80s." A source tells ESPN Chicago's Scott Powers there's a 50-50 chance of Rose playing this season. After a game in Boston that night, Rose talks to reporters and is asked when he'll return. "I really don't know. I'm feeling good, but like I said, if it's where it's taking me a long time and I'm still not feeling right, I don't mind missing this year. I would love to (play). I would love to. That's why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard. I'm trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it's no point." He also says he can't dunk "off stride."

Feb. 18, 2013: Rose begins participating in 5-on-5 drills. ""I'm still not sure when he's going to play but he's ready to go," said a source, who watched the entire practice.

Feb. 22, 2013: Reggie Rose tells ESPN Chicago that the Bulls' lack of improvement before the trade deadline will be a "big factor" in whether he returns this season. "It's frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him." Derrick says he and the Bulls have the same goal, to bring a title back to Chicago.

March 4, 2013: Rose sits with his team for first time since surgery as Bulls face the Pacers in Indianapolis.

March 9, 2013: A team source tells ESPN Chicago that Rose has been medically cleared to play but he still doesn't feel confident dunking off his left foot. The source also said the Bulls are confident he'll return this season, perhaps in mid-March. "He's been cleared to do everything that there is, but before he makes the final step, everyone has to get together and sign off and that hasn't happened yet," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said that day. "As I said, the most important part of this is that we have to trust Derrick and I trust him."


	Rose became emotional during a press conference introducing his new adidas shoe.

March 10, 2013: Before a game against the Lakers in Los Angeles, Rose tells Doris Burke that after workouts his hamstrings are "on fire."

March 13, 2013: Rose says: "I think I can do everything, it's just me having the confidence to do it. Just me feeling normal. I really don't know (about a return this season). I'm just like you all where I'm waiting till that day where I feel normal.

March 15, 2013: Stacey King, appearing on ESPN 1000, thought Rose was about to return. "I wouldn't be surprised, me personally, this is just my hunch -- I'm not a doctor and I didn't sleep at Holiday Inn either -- but I think it's going to be very quickly. I think it's going to be in the next week to 10 days. I saw him work out (Wednesday) in Sacramento. It was probably the most explosive I've seen him since he's been back. He looked really, really good. He was jumping off the (left) leg."

March 21, 2013: Rose says: "It could be tomorrow and I feel like I could play the next game. Nobody knows but God."

April 17, 2013: Rose doesn't play in regular-season finale, making it an entire regular season without playing.

April 21, 2013: Thibodeau says Rose is "most likely" out for the entire postseason.