Point guard returning after season lay-off with ACL injury.
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has revealed that he thinks he’s now back at 100 percent as he looks ahead to training camp and pre-season.
The 24-year-old suffered a torn ACL during the playoffs of the 2011/12 season, and despite medical clearance and calls from analysts and supporters alike for a return last year, he sat out to fully recover.
However, as he comes to the end of his summer promotional tour in China, he spoke about how he is currently feeling and whether or not his knee is fully healed.
“I think I am a 100 percent,” Rose said as quoted by CSN Chicago.
“I’m doing almost everything. I’m squatting, running, lifting almost every other day, just being back on the court after you have an ACL injury, you’re kind of hesitant at first about how you step, what way you should step, learning how to run, accelerate, accelerate while you run and while you’re slowing down.
“For me, I’m reacting right now where all I have to think about is if I have to get to a spot, I’m going to get there no matter what. It kind of feels good having that feeling again,” he concluded.
Rose is expected to feature in the first pre-season game against the Indiana Pacers on October 5, but much will depend on how the Bulls coaching staff assess his performance in training.
While the former league MVP joined his team-mates in the gym for large parts of last season he is likely to still encounter some rustiness ahead of his return to action on the court and will inevitably be protected as much as possible with an eye on the season opener in late October.
Nevertheless, the Bulls have now re-emerged as a genuine contender in the Eastern Conference, and they will be looking to overthrow reigning champions the Miami Heat when the new season gets underway,
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