Chicago Bulls executives are already ruling out Derrick Rose for the entire season, but play-by-play man Neil Funk believes that the superstar point guard will make a comeback before the end of the season.
During an interview with ESPN Chicago, Funk said that while no one from the Bulls organization is saying that Rose will return this season, he is still convinced that the former Most Valuable Player will return especially if the Bulls advance to the playoff this season.
"No one in the Bulls organization, they have stuck to their guns that he is out for the season. But I just have this feeling, I don't know why, and this isn't the first time that I've said it, but I really think he's going to play before the season is over," Funk said.
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When asked about a possible return date, Funk admitted, though, that he is unsure when Rose will return to action, but he is convinced that the Bulls will also try to play him on limited minutes to check how his knee will hold up.
"At what point is unclear and obviously they are going to monitor his minutes very closely if he were to come back," Funk said. "All of those things are going to happen. How much of a factor, whether it's at the end of the regular season or into the playoffs, that remains to be seen."
After missing the entire 2012-13 NBA season due to an ACL injury in his left knee he sustained in April 2012, Rose tore the medial meniscus in his right knee during his tenth game from the long layoff.
After undergoing surgery in November, the 25-year-old superstar said that he is targeting playoff return, but Rose admitted in his most recent interview that he has yet to think about a possible return this season.
But for Funk, Rose, who averaged 15.9 points and 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 rebounds, is just taking a cautious approach again in his recovery, similar to what he did during his recovery from the ACL injury.
"I think he wants to be sure that he's 100 percent, which he thought he was when he came back off that other knee injury, and it looked like he was just starting to round into shape when he hurt that other one,"
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