Sept. 30--The Chicago Bulls don't yet have a definitive timeline for Derrick Rose's return following surgery to repair a left orbital fracture, but injuries of this sort generally sideline a player for about a month.
"The vast majority (of orbital fractures) don't need surgery but in this case it sounds like the injury was severe enough that they thought he needed to have something to reinforce that area," said David Yoo, associate professor of Ophthalmology at Loyola University Medical Center. "People generally recover really well from these surgeries. I would put him out at least three to four weeks."
Rose was injured on the first play of Tuesday's practice when he took an inadvertent elbow to the face from a teammate. The guard underwent surgery Wednesday at Rush University Medical Center and the Bulls have yet to reveal a definitive timeline for Rose's return.
In the past, players have worn protective masks to get back into the lineup as quickly as possible but it has yet to be determined whether Rose will do the same.
"If he tried to come back earlier he may have a little bit of problem with the eye being a little bit blurry if he's using any sort of ointments," Yoo said. "The side might be a little bit more swollen but aside from that I wouldn't really anticipate too many other issues with performance. Generally, after this surgery once you're done with all the antibiotics your vision should be back to the way it was within a week."
Following Wednesday's practice, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg did not rule Rose out for the season opener Oct. 27 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
