Derrick Rose suffers orbital fracture; return timeline undetermined

CHICAGO -- Bulls guard Derrick Rose suffered a left orbital fracture during Tuesday's practice and will undergo surgery Wednesday, the team announced.

A timetable for his return will not be known until after the surgery, the Bulls said. They will provide an update at that time.

The fracture to his eye socket is the latest in a long line of health issues for the 2010-11 MVP. He tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2012 and missed the 2012-13 season. He then tore the medial meniscus in his right knee in November 2013 and missed the rest of the 2013-14 season.

Rose also had a meniscectomy on his right knee in February and missed 31 regular-season games during the 2014-15 season (including for illness and rest). In total, Rose has played in just 100 regular-season games since the beginning of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.

Rose sustained his latest injury when he took an elbow to the face, and he left early from Tuesday's practice, the first of training camp. However, his teammates and first-year coach Fred Hoiberg didn't seem overly concerned immediately after practice.

"He got a little elbow," Bulls power forward Taj Gibson said. "We don't know the [severity] of it, but hopefully he'll be fine. I know he's tough. But it was one of those plays, especially in practice, where everybody's going hard. It's just tough."

Gibson hinted that he might have been the one who delivered the elbow.

"I don't know," Gibson said. "It might have been me, but it's just one of those plays where everybody's going so hard and it's real physical out there, so hopefully he'll be OK."

Hoiberg described it as "a good, hard elbow," before the extent of Rose's injury was known and said Rose "looked great when he was out there."

Rose, 26, signed a five-year max extension worth close to $95 million before the 2011-12 season.

He said earlier this week that despite his ongoing health woes, he believes he is one of the best players in the game.

"I can't get caught up into that," Rose said, referring to talk about his game. "I know I'm great. It's a lot of people that don't know I'm great, that's the thing. But it's cool. I know I can hoop. You can put me anywhere, and I know how to play the game of basketball."

The Bulls had returned mostly intact after winning 50 games and losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. The one big change they made was on the sideline, with Hoiberg replacing the defensive-minded Tom Thibodeau.

Management is counting on a new coach to get the most out of an experienced roster. A big component is the team's health -- particularly Rose's, although he is not the only injured Bulls player.

Mike Dunleavy Jr. had back surgery Friday and is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. Gibson is working his way back from left ankle surgery.

Now the Bulls must do what they have done many times throughout the past four seasons: find a way to play without Rose again.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.