China's Yao Ming says he might end his basketball career next year if the injury to his left foot does not heal properly by the end of the NBA season.
The Houston Rockets centre, who missed last season after surgery on his left foot, also confirmed that he was was unlikely to play in the London Olympics in 2012.
The seven-times NBA All Star, scheduled to return to the Rockets for the start of the 2010-11 season, is recovering from surgery for an injury the Rockets' team doctor described as career-threatening.
The injury, which occurred during a game in May 2009, was the latest in a series of physical problems which have blighted an NBA career that began when Yao was the first overall draft pick by the Rockets in 2002.