Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has suffered another injury, this time reports are saying that it is a career-threatening injury. The Rockets team physician, Dr. Tom Clanton, told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Yao’s injury “has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career-threatening.” In a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8th, Yao suffered a hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone. Last week the team reported to the media that the injury hasn’t improved and Yao would be out indefinitely.

Last season Yao played 77 games and averaged 19.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 1.8 APG. Last year was the most Yao has played since the 2004-2005 season when he played a total of 80 games. Yao was selected as the top overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Rockets. But, for the previous three seasons Yao has missed numerous games due to leg and foot injuries. He missed 21 games after surgery to heal an infection to his left big toe in 2005-2006. Then with four games left in the regular season, Yao broke a bone in his left foot. The very next season (2006-2007) Yao missed 32 games when he broke his right leg. Then in the 2007-2008 season he would miss a total 26 games after he underwent surgery on a stress fracture in his left foot. Since the 2006 season, Yao has missed around 83 games – pretty much a full season!

It doesn’t surprise me that Yao has so many injuries seeing as how he is 7’6” and 310 lbs. The guy is prone to injury at that size and he’s bound to hurt himself with what he is asked to do day in and day out as a center. So as of right now Yao could miss the entire 2009-2010 season and some say Yao could possibly be at the end of his career. I wouldn’t be shocked if Yao were to walk away from it all, but next year Yao is due to make $16 million, with a player option for 2010-2011 that would pay him over $17 million. Can he walk away from the kind of cash? I know I couldn’t. I’d break my own foot for that kind of money.

Now the Rockets must face the fact that their big man won’t be returning for the 2009-2010 season, and he may never return. They also must face that their other big acquisition – Tracy McGrady – is expected to miss the first half of the season due to micro fracture surgery on his left knee. One thing is for sure though, General Manager Daryl Morey said last week that they are interested in re-signing Ron Artest