China's NBA star Yao Ming continues his recovery from foot surgery in Houston. Without the giant, the Houston Rockets now sit seventh in the western conference with an 11-8 record.

The seven-time all-star center had surgery in July, more than two months after suffering a hairline fracture late in a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Surgeons grafted bone onto the tarsal navicular bone and realigned Yao's foot to reduce stress on the repair, but the giant remains immobilized in a cast.

He is able to join in for routine training once every two or three days, but can only exercise his upper limbs. Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free season since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed chunks of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries.