Let’s hope not, but according to the Rockets’ team physician, it’s a possibility.
“At this point, the injury has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career threatening,” team physician Tom Clanton said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “One of the things we are trying to get is a consensus opinion on that, to make certain there is no option we are overlooking that would provide an earlier return or would be an option for treatment that he would prefer rather than doing additional surgery.”
While Yao could face surgery to insert a pin in the foot, a bone graft or even realignment of the foot, but the team is trying immobilization for right now. They are hoping that the fracture heals on its own.
“He has no tenderness, no swelling, no redness,” Clanton said, according to the 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.”
This is obviously a huge blow to the franchise. Yao was expected to miss 8-12 weeks, but the CT revealed that his foot was not healing properly.
Injuries have derailed an otherwise stellar career. Yao missed just two games in his first three seasons, but since then, he has only appeared in 72% of his team’s regular season games.