After Derrick Rose took an elbow to the face in the Bulls first practice, the team announced the point guard would need a surgical procedure. No timeline was given for Rose’s recovery.
Reggie Miller suffered a similar setback. The Pacers great broke his eye socket on April 13, 1996, and underwent surgery. He sat out three weeks before donning some Oakley goggles and coming back for a Game 5 playoff elimination loss to the Hawks on May 5.
Had the same surgery D Rose, ditch the mask and opt for the cool shades. Speedy recovery my friend. #GoingForGold pic.twitter.com/Ve4WELsXPp
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) September 29, 2015
The injury Rose suffered is quite common in the NBA because of the flying elbows, speed of the game and lack of facial protection.
In Street Clothes posted a study on 15 NBA players who suffered orbital fractures in 2014. Their findings showed that if surgery was needed, players missed anywhere from 5 to 28 games or an average of 12 games, which correlates to about four to five weeks.
Here’s Miller playing with protective goggles in 1996. Watch as he takes a shot to the face at the 11:45 mark:
