Houston Rockets Star Yao Ming Could Miss Entire Season, End Career

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming may miss the entire season due to a foot injury, according to reports on Tuesday.

The injury could reportedly force Yao to miss more than a season or even end his career.

The team initially said Yao would miss eight to 12 weeks, but a bone scan last week revealed that the fracture is not healing properly. Yao suffered a hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone of his left foot in the Rockets' second-round playoff loss to the Lakers on May 8.

Although Yao could face surgery to insert a pin in the foot, a bone graft or even realignment of the foot, the team is trying immobilization for right now.

"He has no tenderness, no swelling, no redness," team physician Tom Clanton said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "When he came back in, he was feeling like everything was perfect, and he would start rehabilitation and get ready to play. The findings on the CT were shocking for him and for us."

Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free year since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed several games of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries.

Yao missed 21 games in 2005-06 after having surgery to heal an infection in his left big toe, then broke a bone in his left foot with four games left in the regular season.

In 2006-07, Yao missed 32 games after breaking his right leg and he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in 2007-08, underwent surgery and sat out 26 games.

Yao averaged 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game last season and 17.1 and 10.9 in the playoffs before he got injured.

Yao's salary for next season is $16.38 million, with a player option for 2010-11 that would pay him more than $17.69 million.

The Rockets already expect Tracy McGrady to miss at least the first half of next season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee.

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