Derrick Rose Injury: Bulls Star Will Require Surgery After Tearing Meniscus

The nightmare of Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls and NBA fans everywhere has been confirmed: The star point guard has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee that will need surgery, and he has been ruled out indefinitely.

The team's official website confirmed the news:

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Bulls guard Derrick Rose sustained an injury to his right knee against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Subsequent examinations and an MRI confirmed a medial meniscus tear to his right knee, which will require surgery. Rose is out indefinitely.

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The Bulls have since confirmed that Rose will have surgery on Monday, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

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DRose surgery set for Monday.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 24, 2013"

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Thibs on Rose: "We expect him to make a full recovery."

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 24, 2013"

Johnson had more information on the extent of procedure and what it would mean for Rose's season:

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Thibodeau said how long Rose is out won’t be determined until Cole performs the surgery. But two sources close to the process indicated Rose’s camp is leaning toward having Rose’s meniscus reattached. While this is better for Rose’s long-term career, it also means a lengthier rehabilitation process of up to six months.

That would mean Rose would miss the remainder of the regular season.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Thibodeau said. “We of course feel very badly for Derrick. I talked to him at length (Saturday) night. He’s in good spirits, about as well as can be expected under the circumstances. And he’s already thinking about his rehab. Typical Derrick, he’s concerned about his team, his teammates.

“That being said, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’re the Chicago Bulls. We have one goal and that’s to win. I believe we have the personnel in that locker room to get it done.”

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The silver lining here is that the injury isn't to Rose's ACL, which is what was originally feared after he suffered the non-contact injury in Portland. Nevertheless, while things certainly could have gone much worse, this is still devastating for the 25-year-old point guard. 

Rose, of course, missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee. The former MVP was off to a bit of a rusty start after working so hard to get back, averaging just 15.9 points per game on 35.4-percent shooting, but it was good for the league just to have him on the court again. 

Another explosive point guard, Russell Westbrook, suffered a slight tear in his meniscus during the playoffs last year. It took him more than six months to return to game action, although it's worth noting he had two surgeries. 

Kirk Hinrich will be leaned upon to orchestrate the offense with Rose sidelined indefinitely.