BEIJING, July 18 -- Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has decided to undergo surgery on his broken left foot next week, facing the possibility of missing all of next season.

    Chinese Yao, highest in the active NBA players standing at 7-foot-6, chose a surgery that will involve a bone graft to promote bone regeneration, the team said.

    The surgery, which will be performed next week by Rockets team physician Tom Clanton, will also perform a surgical procedure designed to reduce the arch in Yao's left foot by realigning and restructuring the bones in the foot.

    Soundbite: Zhang Mingji, Yao's representative "After the consultation, Yao has relaxed a lot. We are confident that Yao will fully recover. He will undergo surgery next week. We hope the audience to see a completely healthy Yao returning to the court next season."

    Yao suffered a hairline fracture in the foot in the third game against Lakers in the playoff of the western conference semi on May 8 and the Rockets initially said Yao would miss only 8-12 weeks. When doctors re-examined the injury late in June, they found the injury had not healed and had even got worse.

    Yao averaged 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.95 blocks per game in his NBA career beginning from 2002-2003 season in Houston.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shanghai.