When six-time NBA all-star Yao Ming revealed on Tuesday that he’d sustained a season-ending stress fracture below the small toe of his left foot, Houston Rockets fans weren’t alone in their anguish.

A nation of one billion-plus wept with them.

Yao is arguably China’s most visible Olympic athlete, and although the national team boasts other NBA-caliber players, the country’s hopes for its first medal in basketball rested squarely on the Shanghai giant’s impossibly broad shoulders. Until now.

At Tuesday’s press conference, the Rockets announced that Yao would be sidelined for three to four months before beginning full rehabilitation training. That leaves the 27-year-old with only a month or two to regain his competitive edge before the Olympic Games begin August 8 in Beijing.

Looking dejected, his voice deeper than usual as if hoarse from crying, Yao said, "If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country, it would be the biggest loss of my career." Afterwards, Houston reporters were quick to criticize Yao’s comments, accusing the 7-foot-6 center of putting his country before his employer.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time injuries have forced Yao to ride the pine. In his previous two seasons he’s missed 59 games due to an assortment of injuries, compared to the one game he missed during his first three seasons in the NBA. And he broke the same foot once before in 2006.

Chinese orthopedic experts remain optimistic that Yao will be ready in time for the Olympics. Qiao Wei, medical education director of Beijing University of Physical Education, told a People’s Daily reporter on Thursday that he thinks, “there is enough time for Yao to be ready in August. He will spend three months in bed and one month for basic rehabilitation, then he can play on the court.”

However, Qiao echoed the complaints of Chinese medical experts that the fracture was a direct result of the Rockets’ failure to find an adequate substitute for Yao, which required him to play for more time than is healthy for a man of his size: "Yao could not have avoided the injury given his size and a 38-minute average playing time per game. It is not because of a hit or a stretch during the game, it is a long-time thing. I think it is a reflection of his hectic season."

Yao and the Rockets still haven’t decided whether to put his foot in a cast or under a surgeon’s knife. Now all Chinese fans can do is hold their collective breath and pray that Yao can stage a comeback of messianic proportions. His size 22 shoes are just too big for anyone else to fill.