Sabrina Ionescu as seen wearing a boot in the Bradenton, Florida, bubble during the 2020 WNBA season. | Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
After undergoing a minor ankle procedure, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty now looks forward to returning to the WNBA in 2021.
Sabrina Ionescu missed her opportunity to conquer “unfinished business” at Oregon due to the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the 2019-20 NCAAW season to an abrupt end. Then, her highly-anticipated rookie season in the WNBA was cut short by an ankle injury.
But on Monday, the New York Liberty provided some good news: Ionescu made it through a successful ankle procedure, in a huge step toward getting back to normal physical activity.
Calcified scar tissue was removed to alleviate discomfort in her ankle and Dr. Martin O’Malley, who performed the procedure at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, offered the following:
She had a minor ankle procedure to remove a loose bone chip that was irritating a tendon behind her ankle. … This chip that occurred during her sprain in July, did not involve the ankle joint cartilage surface and we expect a complete recovery. The ligaments she tore during her injury have all completely healed and there was no need for an ankle ligament stabilization procedure.
“With the long offseason, I am committed to returning in 2021 fully prepared to rejoin my team and jumpstart my WNBA career,” Ionescu said. “My rehab has been going very well and I look forward to getting back on the court.”