Chicago Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose admitted on Thursday that he still suffers from double vision stemming from the orbital bone injury suffered at the end of September.
Rose has been practicing with the Bulls, using a mask that is clearly uncomfortable for him, but he’s limited right now and isn’t being subject to much contact at this time, per Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com.
A reporter asked Rose if he was still experiencing double vision, and he responded honestly.
“Yeah, yeah. Right now I see two of you. It’s kind of bad, but it’s preseason you know, so it’s all about getting out there and playing, just playing a couple of minutes and seeing how it goes.”
Despite his ailment, the veteran is determined to get out and play with his teammates. However, if he is still seeing double when the team takes on the Dallas Mavericks on Friday — the team’s final preseason game — then Rose will not play, per Goodwill.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg talked about what he’s seen from Rose of late, noting he hopes the point guard can play for “5-10 minutes if possible” in the final preseason game.
“We’ll see. Maybe see how he feels in the morning. He has a lot of general soreness right now just from picking up the activity after basically not doing anything for two weeks.”
This could be a situation that lingers into the regular season. The Bulls are slated to get things kicked off on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. Having a healthy Rose on the court against the Eastern Conference champs would be huge, but it’s not a given he’ll be seeing clearly.
If he can’t play, then Kirk Hinrich will play in Rose’s place.