[PyronParticipant]

DEERFIELD, Ill. – As Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose nears his return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the non-timetable timetable remains in place.

Even though Rose is practicing and traveling with the team, there is no specific target date, and the 2010-11 MVP and three-time All-Star is comfortable with that.

After all, he’s been patient since the devastating April 28 injury. Rose maintains he won’t play until he’s ready and not a second sooner.

“I don’t have a set date,” Rose told USA TODAY Sports on Monday in his first extensive interview since the 2012-13 NBA season began. “I’m not coming back until I’m 110%. 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. It’s just that I’m not coming back until I’m ready.”

How close is Rose to 110%?

“Right now, probably in the high 80s,” he said. “Far away. Far away.”

The ambiguity is by design but not with duplicity intended. The Bulls have no reason to target a date. Rose, the humble star, is the face of the franchise and worth the patience.

“Every injury’s different. People want to pigeonhole exactly when he returns, and I understand that,” Bulls general manager Gar Forman said. “Everybody would like to know. We would like to know the exact date.

“But what we really tried to do was stay true to the process and not skip steps as he went along his rehabilitation. … We wanted to make sure we did what was right for Derrick.”

In the meantime, Rose continues to work and contemplates the kind of player he will be when he returns.

“I know it’s going to be something good. With all this hard work I’ve been putting into my game, I’m doing stuff I never did before. I gained 10, 11 pounds of muscle. I don’t know what type of player I’m going to be. I just know that I’m going to be very good.”

During a wide-ranging discussion, Rose opened up on many topics, including his injury and the impact it had, fatherhood, the bold adidas ad campaign centered on his return and the overwhelming support he has received from Bulls fans.

Check back later today at usatoday.com for more from the Rose interview.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/bulls/2013/02/12/derrick-rose-knee-injury-return-chicago-bulls/1912521/

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thank god.. i really didn’t want him to come back so early and rush it. he had a career altering injury and depending on how he handles it will effect him big time.

i’m happy he’s taking his time, if it were me i’d want him to come back next season a 110% confident that he’s at 110% healthy.

i know the bulls are doing pretty well without him atm but i’d rather him sacrifice 1 season rather than a shortened career.

[tiberiusParticipant]

He doesn’t have the pressure to be back asap because his team is playing well without him and are heading for the playoffs. That’s a great luxury to have.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

Their defense and coach Thibs brilliant coaching has won them alot of games..And their core are savvy veterans that dont seem to care about stats..They do a good job of sharing the ball and playing 2gether……But i dont see them going far in the playoffs becuz they struggle to score and dont have many players that can create their own shots…

Rose should sit out the rest of the year and try coming back 100% next season…..

[Moon RiverParticipant]

Wait until next year. You are not beating the Heat or OKC this year, unless a catastrophic injury occurs to those two teams, or Miami falls into the Atlantic.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

Damn he gained 10, 11 pounds of muscle? Scary……

[SiggyParticipant]

If he’s 100% healthy and recovered, he can’t get any healthier. There is no such thing as 110% healthy. If he’s recovered, he should play. Waiting until next yr, even if he’s 100% is completely pointless. I’d rather he get over the mental hurdle of trusting his knee this yr then next.

[Ghost01Participant]

Yeah I agree with Siggy here. If he is 100% healthy, go ahead and play, no reason not to. Peterson has come back from this injury and done phenomenally. Different sport, different player, yes definitely. But facts are he showed 9 or so monthes removed from the injury if you feel 100%, you can perform at 100%. Shumpert tore his the same day and already is back. And this nonsense but the Bulls not competing…There is one great team in the east, Miami, and then you have OKC in the west. I would say if you are arguing there are only 2 teams that the Bulls can’t beat, then they are very much contenders. And they are a bad matchup for Miami. Whose to say next year they will have a better shot?

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

A large part of getting back to 100% (or 110% in his case lol) is getting over the mental hurdle. And the main way to get over the mental hurdle is to trust in your body and play.

[KayjayParticipant]

Rose gaining weight, are we sure this is a good thing? Who is to say this will set on his body well? Will he be as fast? Or will only contribute to more injuries the fact his body isn’t ready to throw around that kind of weight yet. There are more questions than answers regarding Rose’s return. So we’ll just have to wait and see if/when he comes back this or next year.

[PyronParticipant]

speaking from experience.. there is no such thing as coming back 100% when it comes to joint injuries. when you injure you joints it’ll never be what it was. all you can do is strengthen it and the muscles around it so that there is less stress on the injured area.

we also all know there’s no such thing as giving effort more than 100%, its a just a saying. “i’m gonna give it 200%”..

so if he feels like he’s 80% i say.. wait it out. again i’d rather see a nice long career from rose instead of a short one that’ll leave everyone with “what if” questions.

[Ghost01Participant]

I think Adrian Peterson would speak from experience and say that although everything you just said MAY be true, you can still compete just as good as you did before the injury.

[PyronParticipant]

may be true? it is true lol…

but for sure hands down you can still compete just as good as long as you can take of your body. just like what everyone else mentioned.. once you take care of the body.. then its all mental

[HaleParticipant]

Apparently he can’t dunk right now, so he’s pretty far off.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Sit him for the season. That is whats best. Too important and too much money to gamble. He is young. Their future. Sit him for a year.

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