Yao to have surgery, likely out 2009-10

[LakeShow]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4336553

Yao to have surgery, likely out 2009-10

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By Ric Bucher
ESPN The Magazine
Archive (http://search.espn.go.com/ric-bucher/)
Houston Rockets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=hou) center Yao Ming (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1722) has elected to have extensive surgery on his fractured left foot that almost certainly eliminates his chances of playing next season but offers hope that he can resume his NBA career and not fracture the foot a career-ending third time.

http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/nba/players/65/1722.jpg
Yao

After consultation with a battery of doctors, Yao, 28, has decided to undergo a bone graft to heal the existing fracture and have his arch surgically lowered to reduce the stress on his foot.

Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=362) had a fracture in the same part of the foot, had a similar combination of surgeries and has played the last eight seasons without suffering another fracture.

Yao has broken the foot twice, most recently last May in Game 3 of Houston's second-round playoff battle with the eventual champions, the Lakers.

It was originally hoped the fracture would heal with rest and Yao would be back for training camp, but a check-up in June revealed the fracture had not improved.

Yao spoke with Ilgauskas before making his decision and was encouraged by what Ilgauskas told him.

"I am confident that the path I have chosen is the best one," Yao said. "I know I have a lot of work ahead of me before I can be back on the court, and I am committed to do whatever I can to make my recovery 100 percent successful. I have full confidence I'll play again."

The surgery will be performed next week by Dr. Tom Clanton, one of the Rockets' team physicians. If all goes well, Yao said he could begin rehabilitation "a couple weeks" after surgery and could return to basketball activity in six months.

Ric Bucher is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Insider.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

I already made a thread

[LakeShow]

I already made a thread

my bad.

[z0sa]

they were made less than 2 minutes apart.

[robbie380]

I already made a thread

lake show's is better since he actually posted the article

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Sucks for him. :td

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

No big Lakeshow doesn't really matter.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

lake show's is better since he actually posted the article


I posted a link to the article sorry if you're to lazy to click on it.

[robbie380]

I posted a link to the article sorry if you're to lazy to click on it.

threads look much nicer with the article posted. and lake show posted the picture too:toast

[galvatron3000]

Oh well, this teams potential is hard to reach due to having injury prone SUPERSTARS. TThey should have tried to trade McGrady about 3 years ago, I said it then and they are paying for it now. You can't have your two franchise players being the most injured guys on the team. McGrady being moved now is most likely impossible unless someone pulls a Joe Dumars.


Put AI on this team and it looks similiar to Phila in 2001. Ariza is Raja Bell:wakeup

[djohn2oo8]

Yao should just retire, and let the Rockets get ready for 2010 with the possibility of signing two stars

[gaKNOW!blee]

Why cant this happen to someone like Dirk instead?


(JK)

[djohn2oo8]

Why cant this happen to someone like Dirk instead?


(JK)

:lol

[duncan228]

Yao Ming to have foot surgery (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnM8_._ZvTtpzszUo86EnNS8vLYF?slug=ap-yaoinjured&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Chris Duncan

Houston center Yao Ming will have surgery on his broken left foot next week and will likely miss all of next season, the latest blow to the Rockets’ faltering bid to return to the NBA’s elite.

The team said Friday that there is no timetable set for the return of the 7-foot-6 Yao, a seven-time All Star, but that he is “expected to be available for the team’s training camp in 2010.” That camp is in October—16 months away.

The 28-year-old Yao chose a surgery that will involve a bone graft to promote bone regeneration, the team said. He’s also hoping to reduce the arch in the foot by realigning and restructuring the bones.

“This surgery will allow me to continue my career playing basketball and I look forward to returning to the court,” Yao said in a statement. “I would like to thank everyone who sent me their best wishes. I am very grateful to have the support of teammates, friends and fans as I dedicate myself to making a completely successful recovery.”

The decision for surgery was expected. Yahoo! Sports first reported on June 29 that Yao likely would not play this season and team officials were worried the injury could threaten his career.

The Rockets applied for a disabled player exception from the NBA a few weeks ago, betting that their center will miss next season as he recovers. The NBA agreed that Yao’s return is unlikely and approved the request. The Rockets signed free agent Trevor Ariza from the Lakers and have scrambled to find a center. This week, they acquired 6-foot-11 David Andersen in a trade with Atlanta.

Yao has been consulting with doctors since late June, when the Rockets said he would be out indefinitely.

He suffered a hairline fracture in the foot in a playoff game on May 3 and the team initially said Yao would miss only 8-12 weeks. When doctors re-examined the injury about seven weeks later, they discovered that the injury had not healed and amended the prognosis.

Dr. Tom Clanton, the Rockets’ team doctor, will perform the surgery.

“This combination of procedures should not only allow healing of his navicular stress fracture, but also improve the mechanics of his foot to reduce the stress on that bone and give him the best long-term prognosis,” Clanton said in a statement.

He also said Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a similar procedure in 2001 that allowed him to return to action. Ilgauskas missed 58 games in the 2000-01 season with the same injury and had surgery on Feb. 7, 2001. He returned to action on Dec. 4, 2001, after missing the first 17 games of the season.

Yao started 77 games in 2008-09, his most injury-free season since 2004-05, when he played in 80.

He sat out one game in November with soreness in the foot, but didn’t have another problem with it until the playoffs. He led the Rockets past Portland in the first round—Houston’s first playoff series win since 1997—before hurting his foot late in Game 3 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yao said two days later that the injury wasn’t as severe as other ones and that he wasn’t overly concerned. He had missed the last 26 games of the 2007-08 with a stress fracture in the same foot. He had pins inserted and rushed his rehab to play in the Beijing Olympics.

Yao is due to make about $16 million next season and holds the option of returning to the Rockets for 2009-10. General manager Daryl Morey called Yao the “cornerstone” of the franchise before the team changed Yao’s prognosis in June.

Yao recently purchased his former team, the financially troubled Shanghai Sharks, but said this week that was not an indication that he was planning an early retirement.

“I do not have any plans to retire and my doctors and I are very confident that I can fully recover and return to the stadium; the team and the acquisition has nothing to do with my injury,” Yao said in an interview Friday with Xinhua.

Houston drafted Yao with the No. 1 overall pick in 2002. He averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds as a rookie and quickly established himself as a perennial All-Star.

The injury issues began in the 2005-06 season, when he sat out 21 games with an infection in his left big toe. He broke a bone in his left foot near the end of that season and had surgery.

Yao then broke his right leg early in the 2006-07 season and missed 32 games, then suffered the stress fracture in his left foot in 2007-08.

The latest injury likely drops the Rockets out of contention next season.

Houston acquired Tracy McGrady in June 2004 and envisioned the two-time scoring champion joining Yao in a devastating inside-out threat. The Rockets went 146-74 when Yao and McGrady played together, but it happened so rarely over five seasons that it never mattered in the end.

McGrady ran into as many injuries as Yao. He underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in February and was expected to miss up to 12 months. His contract expires after next season.

The Rockets acquired forward Ron Artest last summer with the hope of creating a “Big 3” that would vault Houston into championship contention. But now McGrady and Yao are out for months to come and Artest bolted for the Lakers a few weeks ago.

[Roxsfan]

so you're saying we have a chance for Yao to come back and play by April or May:downspin:

[Lars]

Hurray lottery!

[redzero]

R.I.P. Yao Ming's career.

[carrao45]

so you're saying we have a chance for Yao to come back and play by April or May:downspin:

And then get injured again in 2 games...

[Indazone]

I dunno, we are in Bill Walton territory now. Multiple feet surguries and now they are lowering his arch. Potentially career ending.

Adelman has got to figure out when Yao comes back how to use him more effectively. We can't play him over 30 min a game and never back to backs. Same thing with Bill Walton.

One thing for sure. Yao has injured his way out of a max contract in 2010