Tuesday’s news that Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming may miss the entire 2009-2010 season with an injury that could ultimately be career-threatening injury (which was reported in the Houston Chronicle and Yahoo! Sports) shouldn’t be all that shocking.

Yao suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot in the second round of the NBA playoffs against the Lakers on May 8. Originally expected to be out eight to twelve weeks, a bone scan last week revealed the fracture is not healing.

Yet the 7-foot-6 Yao is not a stranger to foot and leg injuries. In 2005, he missed 21 games because of an infection in his left big toe, and then broke his left foot later in the season. The following season, he broke his right leg and sat out 32 games. And in 2008, a stress fracture in his left foot caused him to miss the playoffs.

Not only is this bad news for the Rockets, but for China as well. Yao put China on the map as a legitimate international basketball powerhouse when he reached the NBA in 2002. He carried the Chinese Olympic team in the 2008 Olympics before it fell to the U.S. Yao means more to China than most things in America. He is more than China’s biggest athlete — he might be China’s biggest celebrity. He has surpassed Jackie Chan on the superstar level, and was No. 1 on the annual Forbes’ Celebrity 100 List for China.

Yao had been in China trying to recuperate the leg, but returned to the U.S. to have it tested before receiving the bad news. The Shanghai Daily News reported he will miss the Asian Basketball Championship, which starts on Aug. 6 in Tianjin. So we know he will be out at least for the beginning of the season.

So what does this mean for the Rockets — and the future of international basketball? Well, Yao did have surgery on the same leg in 2008 and came back four months later to play in the Olympics. So he is not a lost cause, yet. As for Houston, they’re also expecting All-Star Tracy McGrady to miss half of next season as well because of surgery on his left knee, which could pose a few problems. They still have Ron Artest unsigned and will need to make a decision, or a trade, soon.

Maybe Yao can rally — he’s only 28. As he did in 2008, he could come back again to make China proud and save the Rockets in the process. At least they can only hope.

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