Derrick Rose: ‘I could get hurt 10 more times -- I’m never going to stop’
Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose spoke to the media Thursday for the first time since tearing the meniscus in his right knee Nov. 22.
“I could get hurt 10 more times -- I’m never going to stop,” Rose said.
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Rose suffered the injury 10 games into the season after missing the entire 2012-13 season while coming back from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament.
Rose is expected to miss the rest of this season with his right knee injury, but said he’s not ruling out the playoffs just yet.
“If I’m healthy and the situation is right, I’m going to be back playing,” Rose said. “If I’m healthy and my meniscus is fully healed, of course I’ll be out there playing. But if it’s something totally different and the outcome is not how I would want it to be, there’s no need.”
Rose, a three-time All-Star who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2011, said when he returns, he has his sights set on winning a championship.
“I think that’s the only thing that I’m missing,” he said, “is a championship. You can have the awards, you can have all that individual stuff. I think my career is going to be judged by championships so that’s the only thing that I’m caring about right now.”
Rose averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 10 games this season. Those numbers were short of his career-average 20.8 points, 6.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds -- but he remains confident that he can return to the playing level he was at before this rash of injuries.
“I believe that I’m a special player,” Rose said. “I think people love the way that I just play. I don’t try to impress anyone while I’m playing or anything. It’s just the way that I play. I’ve just got a feel for the game and I know my story is far from done. I know it is. He’s just preparing me for something big.”
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