BEIJING (Olympics) - China coach Jonas Kazlauskas is not going to panic following the news that his star player Yao Ming has a serious foot injury and could miss the Olympics.

The 7ft 6in giant center of the Houston Rocket has a stress fracture in his left foot and has been lost for the remainder of the NBA season, and there are fears he may not be able to play at the Beijing Games.

"First of all, I hope all the Chinese men’s basketball coaches will face the reality and deal with difficulties with the right attitude," he said at a press conference.

"Secondly, we will make some plans according to Yao Ming's rehabilitation.

"We made two tactics two years ago including the one with Yao Ming and the one without him. Now we will focus on more tactical training without Yao Ming."

Yao was a big uncertainty ahead of the 2006 FIBA World Championship because of injury but ended up playing and helped his national team reach the last 16 where they were beaten by eventual silver medalists Greece.

Kazlauskas is to gather with his national team squad next month to continue their preparations for the Beijing Games.

Yao will be devastated if he doesn’t recover.

If I cannot play in the Olympics for my country, it would be the biggest loss of my career," he said. 

Press conference

FIBA