duncan228
08-06-2009, 03:42 PM
China hopeful Yao will recover quickly (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-basketnbarocketschnyao&prov=afp&type=lgns)
China hopes that superstar Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming will make a speedy recovery and will not force him to play for the national basketball team, a top sports official said Thursday.
"We expect him to recover as soon as possible and return to the basketball court," Vice Minister of Sports Cui Dalin told AFP.
"He is injured, this is a fact, so we are not going to force him to do anything he does not want to do."
Yao underwent surgery on his broken left foot in Houston last month, but is expected to sit out the 2009-2010 NBA season. He is currently missing the Asian Basketball Championships being held in China.
Cui said Chinese authorities support the decision for Yao to sit on the Houston Rockets bench for the year and let him recuperate from what has been diagnosed as a possibly career-ending injury.
"When it comes to injuries to our players, we are concerned and we take care of these players, we will safeguard their interests and respect their choices," he said.
Yao, a seven-time NBA All-Star, has averaged 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in his NBA career and was having his best season yet when he broke his left foot in May during a playoff match against the Los Angeles Lakers.
He broke the same foot in April 2008, six months ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Despite the injury, Yao led China to an eighth-place finish in the Games, matching the nation's highest-ever finish.
"You can't say that it's because Yao Ming came back to China and played a few games in the Olympics that he went out and injured himself," Cui said, citing reports in the US press.
"It was because he played in over 100 games in a row in the NBA… in using Yao, the Houston head coach played him too much, so he was injured."
Cui said he was convinced that Yao would once again represent China following his recovery.
"Yao Ming personally has a very strong desire to come back and represent the nation," Cui said.
"He wants to represent his homeland and show his talent … we understand this, so our attitude is that we must take care of him."
China hopes that superstar Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming will make a speedy recovery and will not force him to play for the national basketball team, a top sports official said Thursday.
"We expect him to recover as soon as possible and return to the basketball court," Vice Minister of Sports Cui Dalin told AFP.
"He is injured, this is a fact, so we are not going to force him to do anything he does not want to do."
Yao underwent surgery on his broken left foot in Houston last month, but is expected to sit out the 2009-2010 NBA season. He is currently missing the Asian Basketball Championships being held in China.
Cui said Chinese authorities support the decision for Yao to sit on the Houston Rockets bench for the year and let him recuperate from what has been diagnosed as a possibly career-ending injury.
"When it comes to injuries to our players, we are concerned and we take care of these players, we will safeguard their interests and respect their choices," he said.
Yao, a seven-time NBA All-Star, has averaged 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in his NBA career and was having his best season yet when he broke his left foot in May during a playoff match against the Los Angeles Lakers.
He broke the same foot in April 2008, six months ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Despite the injury, Yao led China to an eighth-place finish in the Games, matching the nation's highest-ever finish.
"You can't say that it's because Yao Ming came back to China and played a few games in the Olympics that he went out and injured himself," Cui said, citing reports in the US press.
"It was because he played in over 100 games in a row in the NBA… in using Yao, the Houston head coach played him too much, so he was injured."
Cui said he was convinced that Yao would once again represent China following his recovery.
"Yao Ming personally has a very strong desire to come back and represent the nation," Cui said.
"He wants to represent his homeland and show his talent … we understand this, so our attitude is that we must take care of him."