Chinese star Yao Ming left for the United States on Monday to have his left foot re-examined, having stayed at home in Shanghai for almost a month after his injury recurred in May.

In the United States, the Houston Rockets center will undergo X-rays and treatment to ensure he will be able to start foot strengthening exercises, Labor Daily reported Tuesday.

Yao suffered a fracture in his left foot last year and underwent surgery. However, a recurrence of the injury in early May ruled him out of the NBA playoffs. He later returned to China.

Yao has been busy the past month recording for an animation film, "The Magic Aster," and promoting the 2010 World Expo. He will return to China with his former Rockets teammate Dikembe Mutombo to play charity matches this summer.

Yao has been ruled out of the Asian Basketball Championships, which start in Tianjin on Aug. 6.

The Chinese team will be represented by NBA players Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue as well as former Dallas Mavericks player Wang Zhizhi. China has been grouped with Qatar, Kazakhstan and India.

(Shanghai Daily June 24, 2009)