Yao's absence prolonged because of toenail problem

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is expected to miss at least another week after he had his troublesome left big toenail removed on Monday.

Instead of coming back to court Monday, Yao went to the doctor for treatment and was then declared out for another week in the latest round of his on-going battles with his toenails. He has had a nail removed three times since July, 2004. Last season he developed an infection which required surgery and missed 21 games.

"I'm told not to be concerned, but every time something happens, it's a longer prognosis than the previous one," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle.

"My mind says totally unrelated (to past issues) and I'm not doctor, but it may be unrelated, but it's a similar issue where his feet are problematic. So my concern is high for his feet in general."

Yao went through four practices before missing the last three in Austin last week. He developed bleeding under the nail which was drained. Although he was not in any pain, because the nail was certain to fall off, the decision was made to remove it on Monday and then shape it as it grows back to try to avoid the problem.

Including the time Yao already missed, he likely will have been off the court for two weeks and will have missed four preseason games when he returns and begins working to get in shape.

"That has a big impact on Yao, a huge impact on Yao," Van Gundy said. "We're hoping for the best, certainly. But anyone who is not concerned, anyone who does not have their antenna up, is not seeing the totality of the problem, clearly."

Source: Xinhua