Another lost season for Yao Ming as Rockets star suffers stress fracture

Another lost season for Yao Ming as Rockets star suffers stress fracture

Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle and will be out for the rest of the National Basketball Association season. The Chinese hoops star had already missed all of last season because of a fracture in his left foot. The two injuries are unrelated. Its another major blow to the comeback attempt of Yao who has been plagued with injuries during his N.B.A. career. He had been working hard in his rehabilitation and was hoping to come back to the court sometime this season to help his struggling team.

"It's just really sad, and you have to really feel for him because he has worked so hard to come back and then to have this happen," Rockets' coach Rick Adelman said on Friday after the team's announcement. Adelman would again have to find ways to win without his franchise player. Yao had reconstructive surgery on his left foot  before last season and had to sit out. He turned his ankle last November 10 and was diligently trying to get back to playing. But an MRI this week revealed a stress fracture on the injured ankle.

"Last week, he was talking about getting out to play pretty soon, and now to get the news, you really feel for him and feel for our team," Adelman said. Yao is considered by his peers as a very good player and a likeable guy. But his successive injuries have cast serious doubts about whether he can come back and still play at a high level or if he is considering retirement. His physician Walter Lowe is more optimistic. "Is this something that I would say: 'Hey, you've got no chance of ever playing again?' No, absolutely not," Lowe said.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Saturday December 18 2010, 2:01 AM EST. Ref: Inquirer. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0