Derrick Rose Injury: Chicago Bulls Need PG to Hear Good News from Specialist

Derrick Rose will see a specialist after recent back spasms forced him to sit out two games, leaving the Chicago Bulls in fear that they'll miss their most important player for an extended period of time. 

The Bulls return home on Monday from a nine-game road trip, and according to the Chicago Tribune, Rose will get checked out right away. Should Chicago be hit with bad news, the Bulls will have to step up big time in his absence. 

Without Rose in the lineup, other teams in the Eastern Conference, mainly the Miami Heat, will close in on and eventually surpass Chicago's first-place lead.

The Bulls really need everything to be OK with Rose because they can't afford to lose him for several games.  

Having already missed seven games on the year, Chicago desperately needs Rose to be in good health.

The next six games are all at home for the Bulls, and they're all easily winnable if Rose is in the lineup. Without him, it's a different story.

The last thing the Bulls need is to drop first place heading into the All-Star break because Rose is out for a number of games. 

It's uncertain how long Rose will be out, but he told the paper that his back has been hurting for a while. 

"

"It's been hurting the whole trip," Rose said. "I just played through it. It tended to get worse after every game. I was really worried about it. But I'm trying to stay positive. I don't know what the diagnosis is. I just know my back is not right."

"

The point guard isn't sure what the pain stemmed from, but he has had this problem in the past. Rose mentioned that he suffered similar symptoms while in high school. 

"

"It could be (Monday) when I wake up and it feels good, because I remember in high school, I didn't get any treatment or anything," Rose said. "I just took a couple days off and I was able to play Downstate. And I didn't feel it. Hopefully, it's the same thing."

"

Chicago would certainly love that, but there's no guarantee that will happen. The fact Rose has dealt with this injury before is definitely a cause for concern, though.

If he's having back spasms again, Rose is likely to endure the same pain again down the road of his career.

This is something the Bulls need to be mindful of moving forward, but hopefully the specialist Rose sees will tell them things will be fine.

With Rose possibly out for more games, as well as Richard Hamilton nursing an injury, the Bulls could easily drop several games.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau said that Hamilton is "maybe a week away" from coming back, which is certainly good news, especially if Rose's back doesn't get better anytime soon. 

Still, while both are out, it will be a true test for the others on the Bulls' roster. They'll have to show just how good they are without the help of the star players. 

Chicago needs to hear good news from this specialist so it won't have to worry moving forward, but the Bulls will just have to be patient for now.