Houston Rockets center Yao Ming(notes) has a stress fracture in his left ankle -- the injury is related to the ankle sprain that he suffered earlier this year -- and you have to wonder if this streak of injuries is ever going to end.
An MRI performed today on Rockets center Yao Ming revealed a stress fracture of the Medial Malleolus in his left ankle. The fracture, which is related to his previous injury of the Tarsal Navicular bone, presented itself during the course of his current rehabilitation program. There is no timetable for his return at this time.
It should be noted that this stress fracture isn't related to the stress fractures Yao has had to deal with in his actual feet, and that it's only related to the ankle sprain he suffered in November, but if the guy can't come back from a sprained ankle without one of his bones developing a crack (stress fractures aren't clean breaks, but they're serious stuff nevertheless), how is this ever going to work?
"This is very sad," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander told KRIV-TV in Houston. "This is a very disappointing moment in the history of the Rockets organization, for our wonderful fans, for the city of Houston and for everybody in our organization. I feel terrible for Yao."
Yao's Rockets still have legitimate playoff aspirations. They've had a bad-luck streak in losing both Yao and point man Aaron Brooks(notes) so far, and their 10-15 record isn't quite representative because they've lost quite a few close games. But this is news that tends to enervate, to say the very least.
It could also be the best thing for all involved, as the Rockets start to properly rebuild, and Yao takes another near-full year off to work his feet back to health. But a silver lining like that is just too depressing to consider right now.
As it stands right now, this could be the injury that ends Yao Ming's career. Hopefully he has the wherewithal to ignore what many of us would have done by now (accept retirement) and work his way back to health.
Showing posts with label Houston Rockets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston Rockets. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Yao Ming is contemplating retirement
'Twas less than a week ago that the Houston Rockets introduced Brad Miller(notes) and his camouflage shorts as the newest member of their team. We applauded the great fit, and not just because of the abundant hunting opportunities. Not only would Miller be playing in a system that values his skills — passing, perimeter shooting, other things that start with "P" — but he'd also be stepping into a low-pressure situation where he could excel in limited minutes. It was all good, baby bay-bay.
However, it turns out we might be seeing a lot more of Brad Miller in the next few years. Because not only is Yao Ming(notes) unsure about how he will perform this coming season, he's also contemplating ending his career if his foot doesn't heal right. From the Associated Press:
In comments to Chinese state media Monday, Yao sounded far from optimistic about his future and also made a rare criticism of China's national basketball program.
"If the foot injury does not heal next season, I might choose to call it quits," he said. [...]
Yao, who has been in China to promote some of his charity events, all but ruled out playing in the 2012 London Olympics.
"The chance is very small," the 7-6 center was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. "The foot injury will not allow me to play so many games anymore. Like I said before, I will quit the national team and the sport one day. It's what happens to every athlete."
Leave it to Yao Ming to be completely OK with his impending basketball mortality even though it's five years too early. It seems like just yesterday that Yao was sporting the pinstriped Rockets uniforms made famous by Matt Maloney, and now he's all but telling us he's almost done with the NBA. Somebody grab me some tissues.
Of course, there is a chance that Yao's foot will be fine this season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) went through a similar injury and surgery early in his career, and has played eight seasons since then. He was 23 when he broke his foot, which makes healing a lot easier than recovering from the same injury at 30.
I guess all we can do now is hope that Yao's foot turns out to be no big deal. Well, size 18 kicks are pretty large, but I meant "big" in a metaphorical sense. At the very least, the Rockets have the most enjoyable center ever signed for the next four years. It'd be tough to lose Yao, but those next three years would be filled with so many hearty laughs.
However, it turns out we might be seeing a lot more of Brad Miller in the next few years. Because not only is Yao Ming(notes) unsure about how he will perform this coming season, he's also contemplating ending his career if his foot doesn't heal right. From the Associated Press:
In comments to Chinese state media Monday, Yao sounded far from optimistic about his future and also made a rare criticism of China's national basketball program.
"If the foot injury does not heal next season, I might choose to call it quits," he said. [...]
Yao, who has been in China to promote some of his charity events, all but ruled out playing in the 2012 London Olympics.
"The chance is very small," the 7-6 center was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. "The foot injury will not allow me to play so many games anymore. Like I said before, I will quit the national team and the sport one day. It's what happens to every athlete."
Leave it to Yao Ming to be completely OK with his impending basketball mortality even though it's five years too early. It seems like just yesterday that Yao was sporting the pinstriped Rockets uniforms made famous by Matt Maloney, and now he's all but telling us he's almost done with the NBA. Somebody grab me some tissues.
Of course, there is a chance that Yao's foot will be fine this season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes) went through a similar injury and surgery early in his career, and has played eight seasons since then. He was 23 when he broke his foot, which makes healing a lot easier than recovering from the same injury at 30.
I guess all we can do now is hope that Yao's foot turns out to be no big deal. Well, size 18 kicks are pretty large, but I meant "big" in a metaphorical sense. At the very least, the Rockets have the most enjoyable center ever signed for the next four years. It'd be tough to lose Yao, but those next three years would be filled with so many hearty laughs.
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