Yao Ming May Return to the Court by Friday

Yao Ming #11 at an opening night game against the Los Angeles Lakers, at Staples Center, on Oct. 26, in Los Angeles, California. (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Yao Ming, center for the Houston Rockets, could be back to playing full time for the team by this Friday. The Chinese basketball player has been suffering from a sprained left ankle that has hindered him from playing top notch.

Ming could make his comeback as early as Friday, with the possibility of guard Aaron Brooks returning the day after, according to the Houston Chronicle.

In fact the two athletes have been competing about who would return to play first. “I think I have a pretty good chance (in the race with Brooks) now,” Ming said, according to Bleacher Report.

Ming’s injury occurred on Nov. 10 during the Rockets’ 98-91 losing match against the Washington Wizards.

The 7-foot-6 giant is no stranger to foot injuries. Due to a hairline fracture in 2009, he missed the entire last season. In 2008, a stress fracture in his left foot meant he had to sit out the playoffs.

And from 2005 to 2006, Ming was absent from several games due to a broken bone in his left foot coupled with an infected big toe.

A team doctor said the status of Ming’s left foot is 100 percent, with no damage to its “structural integrity”. Due to foot surgery in the offseason, he was already limited to only 24 minutes per game, according to BleacherReport.com.