"He doesn't remember getting stepped on and I don't think that was the case," Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. "I think it was just that the toe ran into the end of the shoe repetively. We had a doctor see him in Austin and he saw Dr. Clanton on (Monday morning). Everyone thought the best thing to do was to remove the nail."

Yao will likely miss four preseason games because of the injury, including Tuesday night's opener against Memphis.

Jones indicated that Yao's injury wasn't serious and that he expected the center to be healthy for at least part of the preseason.

(indicate: 指出\暗示\表明)

Yao, 26, has had a toenail removed three times since 2004. He missed 21 games last season with an injury to his left big toe.

The center indicated there wasn't any significant pain with his latest injury, but had bleeding under the nail.

His coach added that Yao will be back as soon as he can return to the lineup.

"The one thing that I'll say about Yao is that he's tough," Van Gundy said. "He doesn't sit out just because he wants time off. This is not his choice. They just thought the nail was coming off and they wanted to be more proactive in taking it off. But he's going to end up missing two weeks and that's going to have a big impact on Yao and us."