Rose taking rehab trip to Alabama for aching knee

Less than 6 weeks have passed since Derrick Rose had surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

At that point, team physician Brian Cole – who performed the surgery – said Rose would be sidelined for 8 to 12 months and that it likely would take him longer to regain his pre-injury status.

In other words, Rose faces a lengthy rehabilitation process. As such, the process doesn’t lend itself well to tea-leaf reading or frequent updates.

Rose traveled to
Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday to visit a clinic associated with the office of noted surgeon James Andrews. Andrews and the Bulls have a shared history; he repaired Jamal Crawford’s torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2001.

Two people familiar with the visit said the clinic has a rehabilitation specialist that both Rose’s camp and the Bulls had planned to consult all along. Rose could stay awhile.

It’s important to remember Rose, his family and advisers unanimously agreed to have Cole perform the surgery, citing their comfort level, trust and familiarity with him. By all accounts, that trust and comfort level remains.

Any speculation that the visit to the clinic is a sign of dissatisfaction with the rehabilitation process or a setback is merely that. In fact, Cole said that several experts would be used during rehabilitation at the May 15 news conference regarding the surgery.

“He’s very fortunate he’s going to have eyes watching over him pretty much all the time, with many different people who are intelligent in this area,” Cole said that day. “None of this will be on his own. It will be very high-level people working with him from all over.”

By all accounts, Rose’s rehabilitation is going well.

“I talked to Derrick
[Tuesday],” said John Lucas III, one of Rose’s closest friends. “His spirits are great. He said his rehab is going great. He’s putting the work in because he loves the game.”

No matter how well the process is going, it’s going to be a long one.