Chinese officials are hoping to speed NBA star Yao Ming's (
The Houston Rockets center underwent surgery on Monday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Doctors in the US said after the surgery that he was expected to recover in time to play for China at the Beijing Olympics in August.
However, back in China officials are taking no chances with Yao's health.
"After the surgery, Chinese medicine will be used to help Yao Ming's recovery," Hu Jiashi (胡加時), deputy director of the Chinese Basketball Association, told the Beijing News.
"We've hired medical experts to diagnose Yao Ming's condition and communicate with American doctors and we've reached agreement," Hu said.
Chinese remedies are widely believed across China to be effective, and are usually made of herbal compounds.
Hu also urged caution.
"Yao Ming's absence from the Olympics is something nobody wants to see," Hu said. "However, we have to listen to the doctors' advice. We also need to face reality. If Yao doesn't fully recovered from the injury, he can't give his best performance plus it could hurt his career."
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 US$25 million in sponsorship deals alone and is being heavily marketed across China in the run-up to the Games.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
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