Yao Ming Out for Season

It is likely that the Rocket's Center, Yao Ming is out for the 2009-2010 season. Yao has recently elected to undergo surgery to fix a hairline fracture sustained in his left foot during the Western Conference Semi Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Yao is going to have a series of surgeries to hopefully repair and prevent further injury. First a bone graft will be done to repair the hairline fracture. A bone graft is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone with material from the patient's own body, an artificial, synthetic, or natural substitute. Bone grafting is used to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly (Wikipedia). Second, an additional surgery will be done to lower the arch of the foot, which will alter the biomechanics of the foot all together, and hopefully prevent further injury.

The good news is, Cleveland Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas underwent similar surgeries in the past, and has seemingly had an unaffected career thereafter.