BEIJING, April 5 -- It was the three-pointer news all of China has been waiting for - NBA star Yao Ming is making a great recovery from injury and is on track for the Beijing Olympic Games. Yao said in Beijing yesterday that the chances of him missing the Olympics "are quite slim."
"My recovery condition is better than expected and I don't feel any pain now," Yao told a news conference.
The Houston Rockets center arrived in Beijing late on Thursday to start a 10-day traditional Chinese medicine therapy hoped to hasten his recovery.
Yao, who underwent surgery early last month in the United States to treat a stress fracture in his left foot, said he expected the traditional Chinese medicine therapy will reduce swelling and bruising.
Yao hasn't decided on a specific treatment, but said he would probably meet the country's top TCM doctors early next week.
"Traditional Chinese medicine has a history of thousands of years in our country so there must be something to it," he said.
Yao, who hobbled into the crowded news conference on crutches, his injured foot sheathed in a protective guard, said his recovery rate was going "pretty well," but he wasn't likely to be back at his best until late June or early July.
The Chinese Basketball Association will send the best medical team to monitor Yao's condition, its deputy director, Hu Jiashi, has said.
Yao's injury was a concern for the Chinese basketball authority and fans alike as it was feared it may hamper the 2.29-meter-tall star player of the Chinese squad from taking part in the Olympics, due to start on Aug. 8.
Yao is China's best-known athlete and has contracts with several Olympic sponsors including McDonald's and Coca-Cola. He is believed to earn about 25 million U.S. dollars alone in sponsorship deals and is being heavily marketed across China in the run-up to the Beijing Games.
The 28-year-old Shanghai native will not engage in any commercial activities during his treatment in Beijing, Sina.com reported yesterday.
He will fly back to the US after his treatment and is expected to return to the national team in late June or July to prepare for the 16-day Games.
China's other key basketball player, Milwaukee Bucks forward Yi Jianlian, is also under a cloud with a wrist injury.
"I hope his condition is fine," Yao said. "His injury will be a big blow for the whole squad if his condition is getting worse."
Yao said he plans to see his fellow players on the national team and talk with coach Jonas Kazlauskas on strategy for the Beijing Olympics.