Yao’s Knee injury!
Olympics is fastly approaching and with Yao’s Knee injury will he be able to play for china??
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming will miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, dealing a crippling blow to the club in its postseason push, the team said on Tuesday.
"It’s very disappointing," Yao told a news conference.
"We’re still not sure about this, whether to put a cast on it or operate. We’re still looking for a second opinion."
Rockets team doctor Thomas Clanton said the healing time for Yao would be three to four months, whether or not he had surgery.
"It’s a very difficult day for the organization and our fans," Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey told a news conference. "We’ve been playing exceptional ball.
"Yao’s been a huge part of that. That said, we feel very confident about our playoff push. We’ve managed to step up and play well without Yao in the past."
Yao, who has been injured often during his NBA career, is averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds for Houston (36-20), who have won 12 in a row to move within 2.5 games of front-running defending champion San Antonio in the Southwest Division.
The 27-year-old Yao will also miss the postseason with the injury.
"We are in a good situation right now and a good opportunity," a somber Yao said. "Our team is playing with full confidence right now and is on the right track. I believe the Rockets will still keep winning."
Clanton said Yao had been bothered since the Feb 17 All-Star game.
"Yao Ming has had increasing soreness and persistent tenderness and pain in his left ankle," Clanton said.
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"We had originally believed that this was simply a sprain that occurred around the time of the All-Star game. He had been undergoing treatment."
Clanton said he advised Yao to undergo further tests, which revealed the stress fracture.
"That is not an injury we feel he can play with," he said. "I’ve made the recommendation that he be treated surgically."
Yao has been an All Star in each of his six NBA seasons, averaging 19 points and 9.2 rebounds.
The news upset Rockets owner Les Alexander, who believed the team had recaptured its glory days in the mid-1990s when it won back-to-back championships.
"This is unbelievable," he told KRIV-TV in Houston. "This the most heart-breaking. This is the worst I’ve ever felt."
Morey said he was uncertain whether Yao would be able to return to the court in time to represent China in the Beijing Olympics in August.
"We haven’t even determined the course of treatment so at this point all we can be is hopeful of his return at that point," he said. "We know it’s important to Yao Ming and the Rockets that he can represent his country."
Yao said he would seek treatment that would allow him the fastest return to basketball.
"If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country this time, that would be the biggest loss of my career up to right now. My biggest loss," said Yao.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston and Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Sonia Oxley, Miles Evans and Pritha Sarkar)
