Chicago Bulls Guard Rose Sidelined 8-12 Months

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player, could be out between eight and 12 months following knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the NBA team said.

Bulls team doctor Brian Cole said Tuesday that Rose's rehabilitation will involve a series of progressive steps.

"He really has to meet certain objective parameters that we progress him through," Cole said at Rush University Medical Center.

"It's really a series of progressions, very knee focused initially, which is what we're doing now. We spread out from there, doing entire body conditioning, performance training and so forth."

Rose could miss part of the 2012-13 season if the rehab takes as long as Cole indicated it might.

Rose suffered the injury in the first playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 28.

Chicago won the game, but went on to lose the series as the Sixers upset the top seeded Bulls. He underwent surgery on Saturday.