Derrick Rose reportedly cleared to play, just wants to confidently dunk off left foot

Derrick Rose appears to be very close to coming back to playing with the Chicago Bulls.

ESPN Chicago reported Friday that Rose has been cleared by his doctor to resume playing in games. The doctor also reportedly told the team that Rose is no more at risk of incurring another injury than any other player.

Though Rose is reportedly going hard in practice with his teammates and has been seen dunking, he reportedly wants to feel like he can confidently dunk off his left foot before beginning to play in games again. In this sense, he has a mental hurdle rather than a physical one.

The former MVP began sitting on the team’s bench again last weekend, which was another indication that he was close to returning. The Bulls reportedly are confident that he will return mid-March, meaning he could make his season debut in exactly a week when they play at the Golden State Warriors on March 15.

Rose has been out since tearing his ACL last April in the playoffs. He had surgery in May and would be looking at a 10-month recovery period should he return in the next few weeks.

His return has been the most anticipated event for the Bulls this season. Tension over his return heightened two weeks ago after his brother ripped the team for inactivity at the trade deadline. Most of that will be forgotten when he finally returns.

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