Sabrina Ionescu Won't Need Surgery for Ankle Sprain After 'Positive Prognosis'

New York Liberty rookie Sabrina Ionescu will not need surgery for her grade 3 left ankle sprain that she suffered in late July, the team announced Saturday.

The Liberty said Ionescu "received a positive prognosis for a full recovery" after being evaluated by physicians. The Oregon product will continue rehab on her ankle.

Ionescu suffered the injury in only her third WNBA game when she rolled her ankle in the second quarter of the July 31 game against the Atlanta Dream. She needed to be helped off the court and could not put enough weight on her ankle to walk.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the following day that Ionescu would miss one month while rehabbing the injury.

Since then, Ionescus has left the "wubble" at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and the team has not provided a timetable for her return. During her recovery, she's spent time in New York and returned home to California, where she recently visited Kobe Bryant's family for movie night.

Ionescu's injury was a huge blow to a struggling Liberty squad. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ionescu won nearly every individual honor in college basketball during her career at Oregon. She recorded the most career triple-doubles in college basketball history, won the John R. Wooden Award twice and is the only NCAA Division I basketball player to record 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

New York has gone 1–11 so far this summer and has 10 games remaining before its season concludes on Sept. 12.