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Yao Ming hopes to make a quick return
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-25 09:21
YAO Ming is itching for a return to the basketball courts while bemoaning the
poor run of form of the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
Houston Rockets'
Yao Ming, left, of China, shakes hands with teammate Dikembe Mutombo, of
Congo, prior to the start of their NBA basketball game with the New
Orleans Hornets at the Toyota Center in Houston, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2005.
It was the first time Yao has been on the bench since he had foot surgery
on Dec. 19, 2005. [AP] |
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"I am not resting here doing nothing ... I am reviewing the team's tactics
everyday," Yao told Shanghai TV's PowerSports program.
"I have to be back in top form as soon as I return and cannot afford to miss
out on the team's strategy. I expect to return very soon, probably in a couple
of weeks time, and help out the team."
Yao, a Shanghai native, is nursing a nagging foot injury since December.
Lamenting the ill luck affecting the team, Yao commented in a lighter vein:
"I really should suggest to the coach to take the entire team to some temple and
pray between the games.
" I have never faced this kind of situation in my past three years at the NBA
and our team therapist says he had never run into such a huge injury list in the
last decade.
"We have to fight hard for victories even when all of us are fit ... you can
imagine how much the team is stretched right now."
Rockets, tipped as a favorite to win the championship before the season
opened last November, is now struggling in the West Conference. They have been
crippled by a series of injuries to their star players like Tracy McGrady and
Bob Sura besides Yao.
At one point, the number of players on the injured list rose to as many as
seven that clearly affected their run to the playoffs.
On Monday, McGrady returned to thump in 41 points against the Milwaukee Bucks
to snap Houston's seven-game losing streak.
The full Yao Ming interview will be aired at 9:00am tomorrow morning on
Dragon TV.
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