Chapter 480: Chapter 414: You Really Are Injured
Yao Ming made the National Team when he was eighteen.
Even earlier, back when he was at the sports academy and on the Eastern Team, a certain principle had been drilled into him through constant exposure.
Never leave the front lines for a minor injury!
Back in the sports academy, everyone was poor. They trained so hard, and just for a chance to play, Yao Ming had seen his teammates compete while injured more than once.
It was even more so on the National Team.
Fighting for your country, a battle for honor, with countless expectant eyes watching you from behind. How could you have the nerve to sit out a game over some trivial little injury?
The vivid examples of Liu Yudong and Hu Weidong were right there. If you said you couldn’t play in a key game because of an injury, the public outcry alone would be enough to drown you.
You endured minor injuries. If you couldn’t endure them, you got a cortisone shot and played anyway. When fighting for your country, what was a little blood and sweat?!
But after coming to the NBA, things were different.
Jackson had always done a good job with injury management. The team had five doctors on staff, more than any other team in the league.
And Chen Yu, by establishing player health management departments, had continuously pushed an idea to every team: players shouldn’t just endure injuries. When injured, they should rest properly.
Chen Yu even required every team to have a psychologist on staff to monitor the players’ mental state.
This was something Yao Ming wouldn’t have even dared to imagine back home.
You say your leg hurts, your back hurts? Who would listen? You’d be too embarrassed to even mention it to the team doctor.
A breakup, a fight with your girlfriend affecting your performance on the court? Who cared? In the coach’s mind, as long as you stepped onto the court, you had to perform well. He would never give you time off, show concern, or let you get your head straight.
Everything he saw and heard had a significant impact on Yao Ming.
He wasn’t an idiot. Of course, he knew all this was a good thing for the players.
But the philosophy he had internalized for so long still made him afraid to use something like faking an injury to avoid being called up to the National Team.
Chen Yu’s gaze was sharp, as if it had pierced right through to Yao Ming’s heart and guessed his thoughts.
"Yao, you have a sense of honor and are willing to fight for your country. That’s a noble quality, and I respect it greatly."
"But these high-intensity, meaningless exhibition games put too much strain on your body. In my opinion, the offseason should be for resting, maintaining your body, and improving your skills, not for participating in pointless games like these."
"Besides, I’m not telling you to skip the Asian Championship, just to give up the exhibition games."
Official games were one thing; those he should play in.
But as for a string of optional exhibition games, Chen Yu really didn’t think they could gain anything useful from them.
Especially not at such a high intensity.
Weren’t they afraid of getting the players injured before the official tournament even began?
And nine games in nine cities? Chen Yu seriously had to wonder, ’Is this really just for a warm-up?’
Yao Ming’s expression was conflicted. He gave a wry smile and said, "Dr. Chen, I understand everything you’re saying, but my situation is unique. I’m still worried that if I do this, I’ll be found out, and then the Basketball Association will punish me."
Wang Zhizhi is a perfect example. Wasn’t it because he didn’t return to the country last year to prepare for the World Championship, skipped the exhibition games, and wanted to stay in the United States to play in the Summer League to improve his skills?
And what happened in the end? He was kicked directly off the National Team.
The leadership doesn’t tolerate any nonsense.
"Punish you?" Chen Yu shook his head. "You’re injured. On what grounds could they punish you?"
As he spoke, Chen Yu pointed to Yao’s left foot. "And you need to understand, you really *are* injured and require treatment. How could that be considered faking it? I’ve seen your medical records. You fractured the navicular bone in your left foot when you were seventeen, didn’t you? And you fractured it again later."
Yao Ming froze for a moment, then nodded.
The scary part was that both fractures had occurred in the exact same spot.
Back then, Jia A salaries were low and the team doctors’ skills were limited. After the fracture, they just put it in a cast and let it rest. They never even considered surgery.
Chen Yu continued, "I believe those two fractures are strongly related to your rapid growth spurts and malnutrition as a child."
His parents had excellent genes, but in that era of scarce resources, for his height to shoot up like that, there were bound to be hidden problems.
Poor skeletal development, high body weight, and immense pressure on his feet would naturally make him prone to fractures and injuries.
And the location of the injury confirms this hypothesis.
Both fractures were to the navicular bone. It’s the highest point of the medial longitudinal arch, like the keystone of an arched bridge. When the foot lands, that spot naturally bears the greatest compressive force from both the front and back.
Many players who suffer from stress fractures in their feet get them in this exact spot.
Since his nutrition was already lagging, it’s no surprise that he’d suffer a fracture when subjected to external impact.
"Your treatment for both of those fractures was inadequate. Your tibialis posterior tendon and the ligaments connecting the navicular to the talus and calcaneus all show signs of old damage. What’s more, a bone spur has already grown between your navicular and intermediate cuneiform bones."
"You also bulked up this year, which will put more and more pressure on your left foot."
"I noticed this problem before. At the time, I thought it wasn’t serious, so conservative treatment and getting plenty of rest during the offseason would be enough. Not a big deal."
"But given your current situation, I have no choice but to have you rest and receive treatment. If you let this drag on, you’ll need surgery to fix it sooner or later."
"So, you see, you don’t need to worry about being ’found out’ at all, because you genuinely have an injury that requires treatment."
"And if anyone questions you, just have them come to me. I’m the one saying you’re injured and need treatment. Who would dare to question that!"
’I’m the authority. When the authority says you have a problem, you’d better start by looking for the problem in yourself.’
Yao Ming looked down at his left foot, lost in thought.
After a long moment, Yao Ming said, "Dr. Chen, let me discuss this with my agent."
He didn’t dare make such a big decision lightly.
Chen Yu nodded in agreement. Thinking it through was the responsible thing to do.
"Of course. Think it over carefully. It’s your body. Just let me know when you’ve made up your mind."
The phrase, "It’s your body," made Yao Ming’s gaze deepen.
Chen Yu didn’t stay in the sports lab for long. He returned to the clinic to prepare for Wade’s surgery that evening.
Chen Yu was already very skilled at meniscus transplant surgery.
However, when the wound was exposed, William, acting as his assistant, couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. "Dr. Chen, look at his cartilage. The wear is terrible."
Especially on the medial and lateral condyles, the areas of direct contact were covered in signs of wear.
"It’s to be expected. He had a meniscectomy last year. Over the course of a year, severe wear was inevitable."
And with Wade’s playstyle, he loves high-speed drives to the basket. You can imagine the pressure that puts on his knees.
"He was too reckless."
Chen Yu remarked with a sigh.
Both the player and the doctor were responsible for this outcome.
The player lacked awareness, was easily swayed, and didn’t fully consider his future career.
Removing it is easy, but wanting it to grow back after it’s been cut out is next to impossible.
And the doctors... On one hand, it was due to a lack of knowledge; on the other, their methods were just too simple and crude.
Just like Hardaway, who was also a victim of this kind of situation.
’If he hadn’t met me with my system,’ Chen Yu thought, ’in his condition, he might have been able to play a few more years while he was young. But once he got older, the cartilage would wear down severely, causing constant inflammation, and his knee joint would have been completely ruined.’
Chen Yu really felt it was necessary to find a way to popularize some basic medical knowledge among NBA players, as well as NCAA and even high school league players, so they could make more rational decisions when faced with injuries.
Wade’s situation was by no means an isolated case in the NCAA.
’And I happen to have enough influence to get it done.’
As his mind wandered, his hands never stopped moving. Chen Yu skillfully trimmed the meniscal remnant according to the surgical plan.
As for the worn-out cartilage, there was nothing he could do about it for now.
First, there was no viable treatment method, and second, it hadn’t reached the point where surgery was absolutely necessary.
"By the way, Dr. Chen."
Looking at the cartilage, William, who was opposite him, suddenly asked, "Has Dr. Jin’s stem cell therapy project team gotten any results yet?"
Jamie’s stem cell cartilage regeneration project team had received a five million US dollar grant from Eli Lilly, allowing them to expand the team and significantly speed up their research and development.
Without looking up, Chen Yu said, "What do you think? The day the clinic stops serving pork rib soup is probably the day they’ll have results."
William was at a loss for words, then chuckled.
In any case, he had certainly had his fill of pork rib soup.
It used to be three meals a week; now it was at least seven, with the occasional extra serving.
Glancing at Wade’s worn cartilage, William sighed and asked, "So, Dr. Chen, do you think stem cell therapy is the best solution for cartilage wear?"
Chen Yu picked up the donor meniscus with his forceps, trimmed its edges, and said, "Who knows? Medical technology is advancing rapidly. Maybe in the future, a technique will emerge where, for example, a local injection of bone cells could directly regenerate cartilage."
"So, stem cell regenerative therapy is just one avenue of research. Whether it can become a viable technology, nobody knows. In any case, as of right now, neither microfracture surgery nor autografts are great options."
The recovery period for microfracture surgery is too long.
Besides, it was only by borrowing the effects of his system that Chen Yu could achieve a perfect repair.
If it were done normally, the results would definitely not be this good.
For now, Jamie’s research direction is the relatively better choice.
If it succeeds, the market potential is absolutely huge.
William nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
A little over three hours later, the surgery concluded successfully.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns’ roster adjustments didn’t stop.
On the morning of the 19th, Brian held a press conference and brought another piece of exciting news to all the Phoenix fans.
The Phoenix Suns had officially reached a trade agreement with the Pacer.
The Phoenix Suns would be packaging Jack Chakalidis and Wash Leonard in a trade with the Pacer for Reggie Miller.
It was a sign-and-trade for Reggie Miller, who signed a 3-year, 16.5 million contract.
His starting salary in the first year would be 5 million US dollars.
The Wade trade hadn’t gone through, so Sabonis was preparing to stay for another year.
And having also drafted Perkins, they needed time to develop him.
Charalidis and Perkins were drafted around the same position. He’d received some development over the past few years, but his ceiling was limited, so trading him away was no great loss.
As for Wash Leonard, with Miller’s arrival, he had all but lost his playing time.
The Pacer wanted him to at least help fill the void in outside shooting left by Miller.
Most importantly, Miller could have left as a free agent. For the Pacer, getting anything back was better than nothing, so they weren’t in a position to be picky.
Once this trade was completed, the Phoenix Suns’ offseason acquisitions were basically finished.
Next season’s roster was also more or less set.
The projected starting lineup would be led by O’Neal, McDyess, Marion, Miller, and Hardaway.
The second unit would primarily consist of a veteran lineup: Sabonis, Ma Long, Rogers, Poseidon, and Payton.
On the bench, there were also rookies like Kendrick Perkins, David West, Kovol, and Marquis Daniels.
They would develop for a year, and when the veterans retired, they would gradually step up to take their places.
Adding Stockton, the Phoenix Suns had successfully filled their 15-man roster.
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