Washington - Yao Ming's foot injury continued to make waves Tuesday after the Houston Rocket's team physician said it could threaten his next season or even his career. Referring to the hairline fracture that has not responded to treatment, a New York Times sportswriter said there was an "anatomy lesson" here: "Being 7-foot-6 is not good for your feet. And when you are Yao Ming and a broken left foot threatens your career, the pain quickly spreads through an entire franchise, the Houston Rockets, causes aches through the NBA and sends cramps to China."
On Monday, Rockets' physician Dr Tom Clanton revealed the extent of the Chinese superstar's injury, saying a bone scan last week showed the fracture on the top of the foot has not yet healed, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Clanton said the fracture could be severe enough to put him on the bench through the entire next season or even threaten his career, the Chronicle reported.
In May, the six-time all-star broke his left foot for the third time, in a playoff game that the Rockets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Yao limped for most of the fourth quarter of the game and sat out the rest of the series, which Houston lost to the eventual NBA champions.
Yao has been plagued by lower leg and foot injuries throughout his career. He had toe surgery in December 2005 and broke his left foot four months later. He broke his right knee in December 2006 and his left foot again in February 2008, having screws inserted to strengthen the foot.
Despite injuries, Yao was averaging 17.1 points and 10.9 rebounds in the post-season, helping the Rockets reach the second round for the first time since 1997.
"Yao is not experiencing any pain in his left foot, however, the results from the CT and bone scans we performed over the past two days indicate that the hairline fracture has not responded to the degree that we expected," Clanton said.
Treatment options were to be reviewed. The original therapy was for Yao to stop all training and use a walking boot to immobilize the foot.
