Derrick Rose will undergo another knee surgery

Rose confirmed the plan for him to return, saying he’s been “busting his ass” to get healthy before the regular season ends. He was optimistic that the time off will make him fresher for the postseason.

Rose underwent surgery on Feb. 27 to remove the damaged part of his torn right meniscus. It was the third major knee surgery for Rose since May 2012, and the second time in two seasons he needed surgery for a torn right meniscus. Last season, the 26-year-old opted to have the meniscus repaired in November, which resulted in him missing the rest of the year.

“He’s not sure,” Salters said of Rose’s exact return date. “They’re discussing it with the doctors, the front office, the coaches. But he told me likely sometime this week.”

Rose underwent knee surgery on Feb. 27 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. Friday, Apr. 10, would be exactly six weeks after the procedure. His return can’t come soon enough for the Bulls, who have gone 10-8 with Rose on the sidelines.

If Rose fulfills the low end of the timetable, he will return in late March. The first weekend of the NBA playoffs is in seven weeks.

Rose suffered the meniscus tear earlier this month, but given his terrible injury history that has marred his career in the past few years, this is a huge break. Forman said Rose walked out of the surgery and will be playing before the season is over.

The Bulls announced Rose will undergo a meniscectomy on his knee, which means only the damaged part of the tendon will be removed. This was one of the options presented here. The team did not offer a timetable for his return.

The procedure is similar to the one Eric Bledsoe underwent last year. The Suns point guard missed two-and-a-half months with the injury. It’s unclear if the damaged section of Rose’s meniscus is smaller than Bledsoe’s.

Chicago is going to be telling stories about Derrick Rose for as long as any of us are alive, so on the morning after he suffered his third major knee injury, it only seems right to share a few of them.

1. This city has made celebrities out of star high school basketball players before. There was Isiah Thomas at west suburban St. Joseph’s in the ‘70s, Ben Wilson at Simeon in the ‘80s, Ronnie Fields at Farragut in the ‘90s and Eddy Curry at Thornwood in 2001. From the moment word started to spread about him, though, Derrick Rose seemed different.