Notes: Yao has toenail removed

Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- Rockets center Yao Ming will miss the beginning of the preseason after having the nail from his left big toe removed on Monday.

Yao, who has had problems with his toenails throughout his NBA career, is expected to be sidelined seven to 10 days because of his latest toe injury.

The center bruised his left big toe during Wednesday's training camp session in Austin and opted to have the toenail removed after consulting with the team's physician, Dr. Thomas Clanton, on Monday.

"He doesn't remember getting stepped on and I don't think that was the case," Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. "I think it was just that the toe ran into the end of the shoe repetively. We had a doctor see him in Austin and he saw Dr. Clanton on (Monday morning). Everyone thought the best thing to do was to remove the nail."

Yao will likely miss four preseason games because of the injury, including Tuesday night's opener against Memphis.

Jones indicated that Yao's injury wasn't serious and that he expected the center to be healthy for at least part of the preseason.

Yao, 26, has had a toenail removed three times since 2004. He missed 21 games last season with an injury to his left big toe.

The center indicated there wasn't any significant pain with his latest injury, but had bleeding under the nail.

"I'm told not to be concerned, but every time something happens, it's a longer prognosis than the previous one," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "My concern is high for Yao's feet in general."

Van Gundy said his options at center are Dikembe Mutombo, Juwan Howard, Chuck Hayes and Matt Haryasz.

He also added that Yao will be back as soon as he can return to the lineup.

"The one thing that I'll say about Yao is that he's tough," Van Gundy said. "He doesn't sit out just because he wants time off. This is not his choice. They just thought the nail was coming off and they wanted to be more proactive in taking it off. But he's going to end up missing two weeks and that's going to have a big impact on Yao and us."

Wells returns: Despite the news on Yao Ming, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy did get some good news on Monday.

He got Bonzi Wells back on the floor.

Wells, who is dealing with a groin injury, has been in and out of practice over the first week of the preseason.

"He practiced about half the time on Saturday and most of the time today," Van Gundy said. "He's going to take most of the month to get back into shape."

Van Gundy said he wasn't sure how much Wells would play in the team's preseason opener.

"That's a hard question right now," Van Gundy said. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow."

Left in Stitches: Rockets point guard Rafer Alston showed up to practice Monday sporting a set a stitches over his right eye.

He received the cut courtesy of Juwan Howard.

"I caught an elbow from Juwan on a rebound," said Alston, who estimated that he got around four to five stitches. "But I'll be fine."

Alston said the only thing that he made him nervous about the cut was actually visiting the doctor's office.

"Stitches are funny," Alston said. "You go in thinking it's going to hurt, but then you're done just like that. It's nothing."