Three days after he performed surgery to repair the most important anterior cruciate ligament in the Chicago Bulls' franchise, Bulls team physician Brian Cole gave an optimistic assessment of Derrick Rose's future.



Cole spoke at Rush University Medical Center alongside Bulls general manager Gar Forman and head athletic trainer Fred Tedeschi.



"Derrick is doing great," Cole said. "The surgery went really well. No surprises."

Cole estimated that Rose would need eight to 12 months for a full recovery, and saw no reason why his performance should be diminished.

"It’s impossible to predict tomorrow," Cole said. "Statistically, he should be that player and then some. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed."

Asked if he knew what caused the injury, Cole said, "This could be anything from a completely random event to maybe conditioning. We'll never know with certainty."

He noted that Rose did not tear his medial collateral ligament, which made his preparation for surgery much smoother.



Rose suffered the injury during Game 1 of the Bulls-76ers playoff series on April 28. The injury marked the sixth for Rose following a regular season in which he missed 27 games due to toe, back, ankle and foot issues.

Tedeschi said Rose has been a great patient.

"Those who know him know he’s terrific to deal with," Tedeschi said. "He has done everything I’ve asked and more."

Forman said Rose's spirits were improving.

"In the time I’ve spent with him, and I was with him over the weekend, his spirits seem really good," Forman said. "In his mind, he’s determined to attack this rehab and get his game back to where it was. There was a period there where he was down. But I think he’s doing better."

Reggie Rose, Derrick's older brother, told the Tribune over the weekend that Derrick would return on his terms.



"He's not sitting out the entire (2012-2013) year,” Reggie said. “We're just going to bring him back slowly. I think the biggest thing to do is not put a time limit on it, just when he feels comfortable. When he comes back, he's got to learn how to trust his body. I tore my ACL in college also. So it's him learning how to trust his body."



kcjohnson@tribune.com



Twitter @kcjhoop