SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Houston Rockets center Yao Ming says he is mostly recovered from a foot injury and is very likely to appear with China in this month's World Championship in Japan, a report said Wednesday. "Now I am 80 per cent OK," Yao was quoted as saying in an interview with the official newspaper China Daily.

"I think the recovery has been quite good and better than we expected," said Yao, interviewed in Beijing where he has been working on his rehabilitation.

The 7-foot-6 Yao broke the fifth metatarsal in the foot on April 10 in Utah and had surgery four days later.

The 26-year-old anchors the Chinese team and fans have been anxiously watching to see whether he would be fit by the tournament, which starts Aug. 19 in Sapporo, Japan. China's opening game is against Italy.

Even if he's fit, Yao said he still needs time to gel with China's other players, most of whom he has little on-court experience with.

"I feel I am getting closer to my best shape. Now what I need to do is train with the whole team. We play in different leagues and have different styles in the games but we have to get used to each other in a very short time. It won't be easy," Yao said.

Yao will skip next week's warmup against the United States, but has been placed on the roster for the Aug. 11-15 Stankovic Cup in eastern China.

Coached by Lithuanian Jonas Kaslauskas, China has stumbled in its preparations for the championships, losing to Spain last week by 47 points during a European road trip that saw them lose six out of seven games.

The team's performance hasn't been helped either by the absence of NBA veteran Wang Zhizhi, who has been benched since pulling a ligament during China's 76-57 loss to hosts France on June 24.

Wang is also expected to be healthy by the time China heads to Japan and Yao said the presence of the 7-foot-1 center should help improve China's chances of making it to the quaterfinals.

"Our goal won't change. We need to play with more confidence when competing against strong rivals," Yao said.