Rose met the media for the first time since tearing his medial meniscus in his right knee in Portland on November 22.
"I'm not done," he said Thursday. "When you're living in the moment, you don't understand, but if I was to look ten years from now, this is going to be minor. It's something that just happened. If I hurt myself ten more times, I'm never going to stop."
Rose has successful surgery on November 25 and is expected to be out the remainder of this season after missing all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the Bull's 2012 playoff opener against Philadelphia.
The latest injury occurred in the third quarter against the Trail Blazers.
"It was a freak accident," he said. "I was having a good game, I was getting my rhythm of how I used to play."
He lost his footing while trying to change direction to get back on defense when Nicolas Batum stole a pass from Joakim Noah and started the other way. Rose limped across the court and couldn't put any weight on his knee. After the Blazers scored, he came out of the game during a timeout.
It didn't appear there was any contact on the play. Rose was unable to return and was on crutches afterward.
Rose appeared upbeat and insisted he will maintain a positive attitude while recovering from this latest setback.
"I've got a long time before I get back, I'd rather smile than be sad," he said. "My faith is good, my spirit is good and I'll be back."
