BEIJING-China's basketball player Yao Ming returns to China on Tuesday and will begin training with the nation's Olympic team on June 27, state press reported Monday.

The 7-foot six-inch (2.26 meter) Yao, China's most recognized sportsman, has been recuperating in the United States from an injured foot that was broken in February when he was playing for the NBA Houston Rockets.

Yao is key to China's hopes in the Olympic tournament and is likely to see his first competition with the national team in the Stankovic Cup, to be played in the eastern city of Hangzhou from July 17-20, the paper said.