Houston, you appear to have a very big problem.
Yao Ming, the Rockets’ 7-foot-6 all-star center, could have a “career-threatening” injury.
Dr. Tom Clanton, the Rockets’ team physician, told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Yao’s broken left foot “has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career-threatening.”
Yahoo! Sports first reported the Rockets and Yao’s representatives were concerned he would never play again. Yahoo! Sports quoted “multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses.”
Yao suffered a hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone late in a May 8 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The team said last week the injury hasn’t healed, and Yao would undergo additional tests and consult with other doctors to map out a new course of treatment.
General manager Daryl Morey said after last week’s draft he would not comment on Yao’s health beyond what the team already had reported.
Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09. He had missed a total of 79 games the previous three seasons because of injuries.
Yao hurried back from a foot injury to represent China in the Beijing Games.
The Rockets already expect Tracy McGrady to miss at least the first half of next season after microfracture surgery on his left knee.
The Associated Press
