Yao Set For Surgery On Stress Fracture

[duncan228]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/03/01/yao.surgery.ap/index.html

Yao set for surgery on stress fracture
Rockets center should be healthy for Beijing Olympics

HOUSTON (AP) -- Yao Ming will have surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot, Houston Rockets officials said Saturday.

The surgery will be performed Monday in Houston by Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton. The team announced the All-Star center's injury on Tuesday and said he would get a second opinion before deciding whether to have the surgery.

Clanton said last week that the surgery would involve placing screws across the bone to hold it together with a recovery time of about four months. The second option was to treat it with a cast and crutches.

Clanton also said last week that he doesn't expect the injury to keep Yao from playing for China in the Olympics in Beijing in August.

The Rockets have won 14 straight games, including the two since Yao has been injured.

Yao was averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds this season.

[ChuckD]

You have to hope this doesn't turn into one of those Ilgauskas situations where he needs multiple surgeries and misses years, or a Walton situation where his career is almost ended, and definitely shortened by 5+ years. Yao is a big boy, and you have to hope everything is as rosy as they paint it here.

[robbie380]

all of us rockets fans feel the same way but we are also pretty encouraged by big Z's health after he got past those initial injuries. Z has been healthy for the past 6 seasons and he is playing like the injuries never really effected him. lucky for us yao is not a player that relies on athleticism like an amare so as long as the surgery goes well i'm not worried. yao is an insanely hard worker and he was very healthy his first 3 seasons and i still feel that these injuries are "freak" injuries. hopefully i'm right and this is the last "freak" injury he will have. :clap

GO YAO!

[robbie380]

http://www.khou.com/sports/rockets/stories/khou080303_cc_yaosurgery.1c937551.html

Yao has successful surgery on his broken foot.

06:00 PM CST on Monday, March 3, 2008

Associated Press

HOUSTON -- Yao Ming underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot on Monday.

Associated Press

Doctors believe Yao will be able to play in this year's Olympic Games.

Houston Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton and Dr. Bill McGarvey performed the surgery on the All-Star center Monday morning.

"Yao is comfortable and recovering well after surgery," Clanton said in a news release. "We will continue to monitor his recovery and begin an aggressive rehabilitation once he is physically deemed ready."

Clanton has said the surgery would involve placing screws across the bone to hold it together with a recovery time of about four months. Doctors do not expect the injury to keep Yao from playing for China in the Olympics in Beijing in August.

"I am very relieved that everything went well with my surgery today," Yao said in the release. "I am looking forward to getting better and starting my physical rehab as soon as the doctors say I can."

The Rockets have won 15 consecutive games, including three in a row since Yao's season-ending injury.

"I would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes during this time and I look forward to the day that I can rejoin my Rockets teammates on the bench," Yao said.