And it has left China thinking the once-unthinkable: The host nation's biggest, boldest and glitziest star might miss the Beijing Olympics.

No athlete has been more important to a host country's Olympic efforts than Yao is to August's 2008 Games in Beijing.

It is not just that he is the best player on the Chinese team, but he is also the iconic face of a Games that China is depending on to change perceptions of the world's most populous nation.

'If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country this time, that would be the biggest loss of my career up to now. My biggest loss,' said the 27-year-old centre, as his country reeled from the news.

Bai Ximin, manager of the national men's team told a packed news conference: 'When we heard about Yao's injury, we felt shocked and concerned just like all the basketball fans in China.

'We can totally understand how he feels right now and we hope he'll remain positive and optimistic while receiving treatment.'

If Yao chooses surgery, it would involve placing screws across the bone to hold it together. The second option would be to treat it with a cast and crutches.

According to Bai, Yao favours the former.

Both options involve a healing time of about four months.

With the Beijing Olympics beginning on Aug 8, it does not give him much time to regain his fitness to lead his team to a medal.

Chinese basketball fans filled blogs with anxious sentiments.

'This is like a lightning bolt,' wrote a blogger on the popular Chinese-language portal sina.com.

The 2.26-metre star was having a terrific season, averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds per game for the Rockets.

Doctors blamed the fracture in his foot as a result of micro-cracks suffered over time, rather than on any single incident.

Chinese newspaper Titan believes the Rockets' failure to provide a reliable substitute for Yao, forcing him to play long minutes every game, was the cause.

'Exhaustion was really the major reason behind his injury,' the paper said.

Sixteen members of China's squad - minus Yao and power forward Yi Jianlian of the Milwaukee Bucks - will gather on March 8 for training and play a three-game series against Memphis State, with which China signed an exchange agreement last year.

Yao's back-up will probably be former Dallas Mavericks centre Wang Zhizhi, the first Chinese player to make it in the NBA. He now plays in the Chinese league.

Yao's injuries also sparked concern among Chinese sponsors and television stations broadcasting Rockets' games, since viewership tends to fall dramatically when he is not playing.

This is Yao's fourth major injury in the last two years.

He missed 32 games last season with a fracture in his right leg and 21 games in late 2006 with a toe infection that required surgery. He missed four games in April 2006 after breaking his foot.

The Rockets can now write off their play-off hopes in the tough Western Conference without Yao, a six-time NBA All-Star, even if they managed to win their 13th straight on Tuesday - a 94-69 win over the Washington Wizards.

Centre is the most difficult position in the league to replace and Yao is not just any centre. He is, arguably, the best in the league, playing at the height of his powers.

Dikembe Mutombo, 41, who has been averaging just eight minutes per game, is certainly not the answer.

Teammate Tracy McGrady said: 'Everybody is really counting us out, which is cool, but we just have to keep believing.'

A sombre Yao said: 'Our team are playing with full confidence right now and are on the right track. I believe the Rockets will still keep winning.'

But the confidence was missing when coach Rick Adelman told the team the bad news.

'When coach tells everybody I am out for the season, everybody is like quiet,' Yao said.

'That kind of quietness makes me feel kind of scared, it was quiet like nobody was there and you just feel alone.'

ASSOCIATED PRESS