"Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday that Derrick Rose is now taking "full contact" and the only thing left in his return from ACL surgery is putting in more time and then getting acclimated to a game situation.

Rose's rehab from his April 28 injury and May 12 surgery has steadily progressed to the point that there are no longer any physical limitations.

"He's full-contact, yeah," Thibodeau said before Wednesday's morning shootaround as the Bulls prepared to face the Milwaukee Bucks.

The likely date of Rose's return is after the Feb. 17 All-Star Game.

"He can do all the cutting, he can do shooting, he can go off the dribble," Thibodeau said. "So it's just a matter of him getting acclimated to playing in a game situation.

"You have to understand that in practice you're striving to get as close to a game-like intensity as you can, but you also have to understand that you're not going to be able to get there, so that will be a whole different level. And we have to make sure that he's ready to handle that intensity.""