Yao Ming Decides to Fix His Broken Foot with Surgery

This just in...

Yao Ming has decided that the best way for him to repair his broken navicular bone in his left foot is to have surgery. The plan is to use a bone graft to fix the fracture and surgically lower his arch to reduce the stress on his foot. This will keep him out for the entirety of next season with the Houston Rockets.

This is probably, in truth, the best option for Yao. Most elite athletes are treated with surgery because it provides the most stable, quickest, an most complete repair. Yao's fracture is different because the navicular manages a large amount of the transfer of weight from the ankle to the foot. It is an irregular bone with irregular joints so it's repair can be unpredictable.

Based on his treatment thus far, it seems that Yao is doing his best to heal completely and, hopefully, make it back to the basketball court. I hope he will end up in a good pair of biomechanically sound orthotics afterward to best balance his feet to prevent future injury. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery.