It’s not quite the ‘return’, but it’s also not the end.

That may sound like the view of a die hard Bulls fan trying to sound optimistic, but that was the view that immediately came to mind once I read that the 2011 MVP would miss the remainder of the season. 

Once the news got out, I like the millions of other people took to Twitter to gather the reactions of many fools out there who really shouldn’t have a tool to voice their opinion.

‘The next Grant Hill’, ‘T-Mac all over again!’ ‘at least penny got to the finals’ and the most popular tweet…’it’s over!’

Who knows, those fans may turn out to be right, however, the comparisons they’re making and what they’re basing their opinions on… are simply incorrect.

Firstly, if one was to compare those players to Rose and the procedures they had, they would quickly realise that they would be comparing apples to oranges.

Grant Hill had ankle issues and was mis diagnosed from the beginning. Anfernee Hardaway had multiple micro fracture surgeries and was also misdiagnosed from the outset. Tracy Mcgrady (starting to sense an Orlando theme here) also had multiple micro fracture surgeries and was no different to the aforementioned superstars.

Derrick Rose had his ACL repaired, and unlike most experts predicted, came back athletically fine – one could argue he was even quicker and stronger. The issue with Rose and his play was not his knee(s), but rather the rust from such a long lay off.

This time it was a medial meniscus, which is a common injury to have after an ACL repair. There are compensation issues, and coming from someone who has had 3 knee surgeries in 5 years himself, I can relate somewhat to what Derrick is going through.

For sanity to prevail, one must fully understand the procedures that Rose has had before we make any proclamations about this being the end of the road for the Chicago native.

Heading into the procedure, there appeared to be two options for repairing Rose’s knee. He could have had the meniscus, or a portion of it, removed and been back on the floor in a matter of weeks. Having the meniscus reattached, which appears to be the route Rose and the Bulls took, sidelines him four to six months.

While the first option would’ve put Rose on the court much sooner (as soon as 4 weeks), it isn’t a great long term fix as the the cartilage that acts a cushion in the knee would no longer be there, thus increasing the likelihood of arthritis in the future.

One only needs to ask Dwyane Wade his opinion on the matter, and he’ll quickly tell you how he regrets taking some of the meniscus out back in college, in order to get on the court quicker. 

It appears that with the 25-year-old Rose the organization chose to take the longer approach with the hope that he can return to being the same player as before his first knee injury.

And why cant he?

He showed that he can come back as quick as ever from an ACL injury, and Westbrook – who had the same procedure to repair the meniscus in the playoffs, is also proving that procedure is not as serious as people made out.

Experts and Twitter idiots will point out to the time missed by Rose over the last couple of seasons, but they need only look at some of the examples they are using to understand how silly they sound.

The Amar’e Stoudemire example has also become a popular one by fans, but this one actually proves their proclamations wrong.

Stoudemire, like T-Mac and Penny, was also a microfrcure victim. However, unlike the those two, Amar’e was able to come back and play some his best basketball for the next 5 seasons. It wasn’t until recently that the full effects of the micro fracture surgeries finally started to take its toll on his body.

So, if Amar’e can come back after much more risky and much more serious procedures, why can’t Rose do the same? Especially when you consider that Rose has on both occasions taken the much safer route.

Derrick could’ve come back last season, but CHOSE not to. It wasn’t because he COULDN’T. And this time, Rose could’ve chosen the much quicker route, but again decided against it.

The time missed by Rose is indicative of Derrick being smart, rather than his body failing him. Whether it turns out to be better for Rose in unknown, but it certainly doesn’t signify the end.