Yao had surgery on his foot yesterday (Friday).
Here’s a report from the Houston Chronicle:
Rockets center Yao Ming underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair a clean break of the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot.
The surgery, which included the insertion of a screw in order to strengthen the bone, was performed by Dr. Tom Clanton at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.
“From what I’ve been told, everything went as well as you would expect and would hope,” said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. “We’ll just let Yao get over the surgery and give him the best possible treatment to assist his recovery.”
The early prognosis was that Yao’s rehabilitation could last four to six months.
“When I spoke with the doctors, I was told that’s how long it takes for a bone to regain its full density,” Dawson said. “I’ll say this. Yao has shown us in the past that he’s a quick healer.”
The Chronicle also had some quotes from Jeff Van Gundy about Yao’s foot:
“I think the bigger concern is he’s had a lot of problems with his left foot, and (big players) with foot problems are a concern,” he said. “He had the ankle surgery on his left foot, the toe surgery on his left foot, now he’s broken it. He broke it earlier when he was 19. So to me that’s the bigger concern and that’s why it’s imperative that he stays in great shape and keeps his weight down throughout his career, to lessen the opportunities to place undue stress on his feet.
“I’m not saying any one (injury) has anything to do with the other. But foot problems on big guys are especially — looking at the history of the NBA — are problematic. You don’t want to turn around one day and be looking at a Bill Walton.”
Speaking of Van Gundy, it looks like Rockets’ owner Les Alexander wants him to return next season. That’s no surprise. However, I do like how Alexander isn’t going to be patting anyone on the back this off-season for a job well done.
“You want me to say to the fans (that) Jeff did a great job this season when we won less than .500? I didn’t do a good job. He didn’t do a good job. We didn’t do a good job. Nobody did a good job. That’s impossible. Last year we won 51. I thought that was a great job. Nobody did a good job this year. That’s my theory.”
Bone-headed moves like trading away Mike James for Rafer Alston and letting go Scott Padgett, one of Houston’s best 3-point shooters, were some of the reasons for the Rockets’ demise this year. The jury is still out on Stromile Swift, but if you remember, he was the most sought-after power forward during the off-season last year, and they got him. So you can’t fault them for that move…yet.
To see the entire article about Alexander’s comments, as well as Van Gundy’s, click here.
Through this article in today’s Houston Chronicle, we get to know a little bit more about Daryl Morey, the soon-to-be GM who will be taking over Carroll Dawson‘s duties after next season. Personally, I think it’s a great, gutsy move by owner Les Alexander to bring in different perspectives the Rockets (nor many teams) have never had before.