Derrick Rose has returned to the practice sessions of the Chicago Bulls, significantly improving the morale of his teammates and giving everyone some reassurance that we could see him coming back to the actual game soon. However, while the player does seem ready to practice again, it looks like it’ll still be a while before he actually takes part in any serious games.
In a recent session with media representatives, journalists asked him the question everyone is so interested in – but he wasn’t able to give any concrete answer. The only thing he could say was actually “Who knows?”, and he went on to explain that he hasn’t even been thinking about his future return right now. For now, all that’s on his mind is his recovery, and the player is actively focusing on that.
There aren’t that many games left in the season however, with only seven regular matches remaining for his team. With that in mind, unless Rose actually manages to recover more quickly than currently anticipated, it’s entirely possible that the player may have to skip the entire rest of the season. His condition has been reported as not very good, and he’s still struggling with more serious physical activity during practice, so it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to play soon or not.
Many fans were hopeful to see him in the Sunday match in Cleveland, as he was actually already experienced against the Cavaliers and had previously delivered one of his best performances against them. After that match, the team is going to Orlando and then Miami for games on Wednesday and immediately afterwards on Thursday – but given the current situation, it’s not very likely that Rose will be joining his teammates for those matches either.
Tom Thibodeau, the team’s coach, also agrees that Rose has no place in actual games for the time being. His condition is still too serious to allow him to play, and he needs to recover and focus on finishing his practice sessions successfully before he can play. It’s good to see that the coach is actively looking out for his players instead of trying to push Rose into playing despite his poor condition, as some coaches would definitely prioritize the performance of their team and the chance of winning over personal matters.
In the end, nobody knows when Rose is coming back, not even the player himself – but he will hopefully be responsible with his recovery and not rush through it like some players would probably try to. His future hinges on how well he’s going to recover from this condition, and he’s likely well aware of that fact and doing his best to give himself the best shot at continuing his career that he can.