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Stress fracture could spell the end of Yao Ming's NBA career
Source: Agencies/Shanghai Daily |
December 18, 2010, Saturday
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BASKETBALL star Yao Ming's NBA career is in serious jeopardy after the Houston Rockets confirmed that the Chinese center had a stress fracture in his left ankle and would be out of action indefinitely.
Shanghai-born Yao, who used to play for local side the Sharks and now owns the club, has been out since November 10 with what has been called a bone bruise in the same ankle. An MRI this week revealed the stress fracture.
Yao, 30, sat out last season after surgery on his broken left foot. The Rockets said his current injury was related to the old one, and was discovered during his current rehabilitation.
"I have been working hard to get back on the court, so today's news was very disappointing for me," Yao said. "I will need some time to speak with my doctors to figure out my options moving forward, but I want to thank all those who have expressed their support for me during this time. I will wait on commenting further until we have a set plan."
Yao was the top overall draft pick in 2002 and first began to have injury problems in the 2005-06 season.
His left foot has been the main problem. He first broke a bone in the foot with four games left in the 2005-06 season.
He broke his right leg in the 2006-07 season, forcing him to sit out 32 games, before a stress fracture in his left foot in February 2008 forced him to miss the playoffs. He had pins inserted and rushed his rehabilitation to play for China at the Beijing Olympics.
Yao had no problems in the 2008-09 season until the second round of the playoffs, when he injured his foot again. That injury proved to be the most serious, when the hairline fracture didn't heal and he was forced to undergo complex surgery.
A Shanghai doctor said it could be two to three months before Yao's latest fracture healed, and that didn't include the rehabilitation and recovery training he would need.
"A stress fracture is a fracture not because of a sudden impact, but from long term fatigue or functional injury," said Dr Zhang Wei of Changzheng Hospital's orthopedics department.
There was intense interest in Yao's injury on Chinese microblogs yesterday with many fans expressing sadness at the situation and their hopes for a quick recovery.
"I feel sorry for Yao and I was so sad when I heard the story," said Shanghai fan Qu Yuntao. "Although he showed his optimism to the media as usual, he should know in his mind that the injury is critical for his career. He's a smart guy."
Thanks in large part to Yao's impact, the NBA launched NBA China in January 2008. A year ago, NBA games were available on 51 television and digital media outlets in China and NBA merchandise was being sold in about 30,000 locations.
Shanghai-born Yao, who used to play for local side the Sharks and now owns the club, has been out since November 10 with what has been called a bone bruise in the same ankle. An MRI this week revealed the stress fracture.
Yao, 30, sat out last season after surgery on his broken left foot. The Rockets said his current injury was related to the old one, and was discovered during his current rehabilitation.
"I have been working hard to get back on the court, so today's news was very disappointing for me," Yao said. "I will need some time to speak with my doctors to figure out my options moving forward, but I want to thank all those who have expressed their support for me during this time. I will wait on commenting further until we have a set plan."
Yao was the top overall draft pick in 2002 and first began to have injury problems in the 2005-06 season.
His left foot has been the main problem. He first broke a bone in the foot with four games left in the 2005-06 season.
He broke his right leg in the 2006-07 season, forcing him to sit out 32 games, before a stress fracture in his left foot in February 2008 forced him to miss the playoffs. He had pins inserted and rushed his rehabilitation to play for China at the Beijing Olympics.
Yao had no problems in the 2008-09 season until the second round of the playoffs, when he injured his foot again. That injury proved to be the most serious, when the hairline fracture didn't heal and he was forced to undergo complex surgery.
A Shanghai doctor said it could be two to three months before Yao's latest fracture healed, and that didn't include the rehabilitation and recovery training he would need.
"A stress fracture is a fracture not because of a sudden impact, but from long term fatigue or functional injury," said Dr Zhang Wei of Changzheng Hospital's orthopedics department.
There was intense interest in Yao's injury on Chinese microblogs yesterday with many fans expressing sadness at the situation and their hopes for a quick recovery.
"I feel sorry for Yao and I was so sad when I heard the story," said Shanghai fan Qu Yuntao. "Although he showed his optimism to the media as usual, he should know in his mind that the injury is critical for his career. He's a smart guy."
Thanks in large part to Yao's impact, the NBA launched NBA China in January 2008. A year ago, NBA games were available on 51 television and digital media outlets in China and NBA merchandise was being sold in about 30,000 locations.
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