It seems that Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose just can’t get away from the “injury bug,” as Rose injured his left hamstring in the Chicago Bulls’ 100-93 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
After the game, Rose was asked about the injury and didn’t seem too concerned about it.
“I guess it’s cramps in my hamstrings,” Rose said. “But I think it’s minor, and they decided to pull me out.”
Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau told the media after the game that Rose, who injured his hamstring with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter and didn’t return to the game, told him that he was fine and wanted to go back into the game, but Thibodeau wouldn’t let him.
Rose kept insisting to the media after the game that the injury wasn’t that serious, and that he was going to practice on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s that serious,” Rose said. “Just ice it, stimulate, see if I can practice [Friday] and give it a go Saturday.”
Rose was asked how exactly the injury happened, but he wasn’t quite sure how it happened or what the cause of it was.
“I don’t know, man,” Rose said. “Just missing two years, now you’re just going to fall for no reason I guess, man. Just trying to work every day, put in consistent work every day. And don’t lose any confidence with these setbacks.
After sitting out for two seasons and missing four games already this season, Rose has been the subject of a lot of criticism from Bulls fans, as they’ve been calling him soft and injury-prone since the beginning of the season.
In response to the criticism that Rose has been receiving, Rose’s teammate, Joakim Noah, delivered a very passionate statement defending Derrick Rose, and refuting the fans assumption that Rose is soft.
“We’re a group that’s gone through a lot. Just looking at the situation as a teammate is just frustrating because I feel like sometimes he’s portrayed as something that he’s not. You don’t come back from the injuries that he’s coming back from without an unbelievable commitment, just watching the league and the power that the media have. Sometimes you guys can really portray somebody as something he’s not, and to me that’s a little disappointing just because I know how much he cares about this game.
“I see it every day. I think we’re all in this together. This is not a one-man team. But at the end of the day, we need him; we need him, and I don’t want to see him down. I know sometimes it’s frustrating, you’ve got injuries, you’ve got tweaks. Every time something happens to [Rose], people act like it’s the end of the world, and that’s f***ing so lame to me. Relax. He’s coming back from two crazy surgeries, obviously we’re being conservative with him, and when things aren’t going right, he’s got to listen to his body more than anybody. So everybody needs to chill the f*** out. I’m sorry for cursing but I’m really passionate. I don’t like to see him down and he doesn’t say that he’s down, but I just don’t like it when people portray him and judge him because it’s not fair to him. It’s not.”
It’s likely that Rose will have to have an MRI on Friday as the Bulls’ medical staff wants to be sure that Rose didn’t damage his hamstring worse than he may think he did. His status for the Bulls’ next game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday is uncertain.
[Image via USA Today ]