Yao breaks foot

SALT LAKE CITY: Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming broke his left foot when another player stepped on it late in the first quarter against Utah on Monday night. With four games remaining and the Rockets out of the playoff race, Yao is almost certainly done for the season. “Maybe it’s the best thing for me and when I come back I’ll be stronger,” Yao said. He said Utah’s Mehmet Okur kicked him on the side of the foot, but he tried to play through the pain for a few minutes. — AP

Ronaldo sidelined

MADRID: Ronaldo will be out for between two and three weeks with torn muscle fibers in his right thigh, Real Madrid said on Tuesday. The Brazil striker suffered the injury early in the second half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad. The injury, Ronaldo’s sixth in a frustrating season, comes two months before Brazil kicks off the defense of its World Cup title in Germany. Ronaldo is expected to miss the matches against Getafe, Malaga and possibly Osasuna. With six matches to play, Madrid lies third, 11 points behind leader FC Barcelona. — AP