Houston Rockets center Yao Ming had a stress fracture in his left ankle, the injury is related to the ankle sprain that he suffered earlier this year, which could put his career in danger, Houston Rocket confirmed on Thursday. [CFP]?

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming had a stress fracture in his left ankle, the injury is related to the ankle sprain that he suffered earlier this year, which could put his career in danger, Houston Rocket confirmed on Thursday.

An MRI performed Thursday on Rockets center Yao Ming revealed a stress fracture of the Medial Malleolus in his left ankle.

The fracture, which is related to his previous injury of the Tarsal Navicular bone, presented itself during the course of his current rehabilitation program. There is no timetable for his return at this time.

It should be noted that this stress fracture isn't related to the stress fractures Yao has had to deal with in his actual feet, and that it's only related to the ankle sprain he suffered in November, but if he can't come back from a sprained ankle without one of his bones developing a crack.

"This is very sad," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander told KRIV-TV in Houston. "This is a very disappointing moment in the history of the Rockets organization, for our wonderful fans, for the city of Houston and for everybody in our organization. I feel terrible for Yao."

It's a major setback for the 7-foot-6 Yao, a seven-time All- Star, who sat out all of last season after surgery to repair his broken left foot.

Yao's Rockets still have legitimate playoff aspirations. They' ve had a bad luck streak in losing both Yao and point man Aaron Brooks so far, and the team's 10-15 record isn't quite representative because they've lost quite a few close games. But this is news that tends to enervate, to say the very least.

It could also be the best thing for all involved, as the Rockets start to properly rebuild, and Yao takes another near-full year off to work his feet back to health.

But a silver lining like that is just too depressing to consider right now. As it stands right now, this could be the injury that ends Yao Ming's career.

Yao averaged 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds a game in his five games this season.