Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming is expected to miss at least six weeks of the U.S. National Basketball Association season after fracturing the bone under his right knee.
Yao, who plays for the Houston Rockets in the southern state of Texas, injured his knee as he tried to block a shot in the first quarter of Saturday's 98-93 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 2.29 meter tall center was off to the best start of his five-year NBA career, averaging 26.8 points and nearly 9.7 rebounds per game two months into the season. He has scored at least 30 points in five of the last seven contests.
Yao missed 21 games a year ago with a toe infection, and last April he was sidelined with a broken foot for the last four games of the NBA season.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.