Derrick Rose Injury: Updates on Bulls Star's Illness and Return

Joseph ZuckerDec 18, 2014

Derrick Rose can now add "illness" to the list of things that have forced him to sit games this season. The star point guard missed Thursday's game vs. the Knicks as well as Friday's game against the Grizzlies. He's set to play in Monday's game against the Raptors.

Continue for updates.

Rose Will Play Monday

Rose to Miss Second Straight Game

Friday, Dec. 19

Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears has the latest on Rose:

Rose Out vs. Knicks With Illness

Thursday, Dec. 18

The Chicago Bulls point guard is battling an illness and will be out against the New York Knicks on Thursday night, according to ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell:

Rose's history of missing games is well known by now. From 2011-12 through 2013-14, the former NBA MVP missed a total of 181 regular-season games.

Early in the 2014-15 NBA season, Rose sprained his left ankle in an eventual 114-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then came a hamstring injury in a Nov. 13 game against the Toronto Raptors. Neither of the two ailments was serious, but they both served as warnings for how quickly things can turn sour for the 26-year-old.

Having spent so much time off the court due to his inability to stay healthy, Rose has earned the label of "being soft." He hit back at those critics in November, per Friedell:

Chicago fans will breathe easy knowing that Rose is only battling a bug and should be back after a few days. As Friedell mentioned, Jimmy Butler was sick recently, which didn't stop the shooting guard from asking to stay on the court, according to Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta.

There's no question that the Bulls will need a healthy Rose in order to be a serious threat to win the Eastern Conference. Last season's fourth-place finish proves that Chicago can finish well without him, but an early-round exit seems likely if Rose isn't on the floor.