How big a worry is Yao's foot?

[zksb09]

I've been ho-hum about Yao's foot, even tho' there are some calling him "injury-prone". I kind of dismissed it out of hand, thinking they were mostly nay-sayers. Then I came across the following article. Not sure how accurate this is, but it says he's broken the same foot before at 19....
link: http://www.nba.com/fantasy/features/cates_061021.html
(you'll have to scroll down)
Chris,

What are your thoughts on Yao Ming? Would you touch him this year or would you let someone else suffer the consequences of drafting the Yao?

-Mr. Cates

Yao Ming is a hot potato to me. Do you touch a hot potato? Only if you’re crazy. I want no part of Yao Ming this year and injury concerns have everything to do with it. Here’s a little bit of what I said about him in my Occupation Hazard draft kit column:

He originally broke the foot on April 10th, having surgery very soon thereafter. There’s definitely room for concern here, as Yao broke the same foot when he was 19, then had ankle surgery on the foot, then had toe surgery on the foot and has now broken it again. Coach Jeff Van Gundy voiced concern when he said that foot problems on big guys were especially problematic, listing all the different injuries to his left foot Yao Ming has had. There’s no denying that players of Yao’s size are affected more by foot problems and when you’ve had as many injuries to the same foot as he has and are coming off a major off-season surgery, there’s reason for concern.

And I said that before his recent “toenail” problems. Now I’m just frightened of him. He can be had mid-second round nowadays in most cases, but there’s no way I’d touch him there with center-eligible talent like Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire (another injury risk, but I like him much more than Yao) likely still available, as well as point guard studs like Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd very much out there. You can imagine my disgust when I missed the first round of a recent draft and, upon my arrival, came to find out that none other than Yao Ming had been awarded to me by the computer. Good times. Don’t draft Yao and you’ll be a much happier person than you would with him on your roster. He’ll miss a lot of games this year – if he doesn’t, I’ll eat crow in this space at season’s end. The Yao Watch begins Nov. 1.

Does this guy have his feet right? Not very high on Yao. Hope this is mostly smoke...

[Pocket Rockets]

i guess he'll be eating crow in june 07

[FFz]

this guy's crazy. he likes amare even though they just gave diaw a 9 million dollar a year contract?

[FFz]

sorry to double post, but Tim Duncan has been crap on the ft line and hasn't gotten as many rebounds as he used to get. Plus he's not exactly what i'd call an iron man. I know he's pissed off and well rested after failing to get another ring, but I don't see him playing more minutes than Yao.

[Luffy1]

He's crazy if he thinks amare is a safer bet than Yao on the injury front.

[TTRocket]

According to this Houston Chronicle article, he has broken the same foot (left) three times so far, not counting toe injuries.
From the April 12, 2006 article (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3788382.html)
"Another series of X-rays and an MRI on Tuesday confirmed the initial diagnosis of a clean break of the fifth metatarsal in Yao's left foot, a "Jones fracture." Given Yao's size and where the break is, the treatment and rehabilitation period is especially unpredictable.

Though Yao twice broke the same foot as a teenager, this injury is not uncommon. Michael Jordan, Mike Bibby, Elton Brand and Nazr Mohammed have come back from similar injuries."

[Pest_Ctrl]

Too bad this guy doesn't appear on TV or we would see him eating a crow for dinner in June 2007.

[kevtse]

Obviously, he's another Yao hater. Can't wait to see him eat a crow.

[canoner2002]

No matter how much Yao does, he is not gonna earn respect from certain people. They will find something to talk themselves into hating Yao. So stop worring about them.