Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro admitted on Monday that guard Derrick Rose could miss the start of the regular season.

Del Negro said that it wasn't out of the "realm of possibility" that Rose could miss Chicago's opener against San Antonio next week.

Rose has an inflamed tendon behind his right ankle and hasn't played since the team's first preseason game against Indiana.

"We want to use this time to get him out there practicing and get everybody comfortable with things," Del Negro said. "But we always want to be smart, knowing the regular season's around the corner and looking at [the] big picture."

Rose, who says he's at about "80 percent" right now, insists that he's going to play.