Sandy Brondello Updates Liberty Injuries
Despite a consistent return to the win column, the New York Liberty have endured a painful stretch in more ways than one.
New York already knew that it would be without Satou Sabally and Breanna Stewart going into a Monday night duel with the Dallas Wings (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) but it added depth star Kennedy Burke to the list of medically-induced departures less than two hours before tip-off. Originally absent from the report, Burke was listed as out due to "rest" after missing the second half of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Sparks due to cramping.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello offered full updates during her pregame availability: by far the most inspiring was the confirmation that Stewart "escaped major injury," though she hinted at a decent absence "until she's good to go big picture."
"She's so impactful for what we do at both ends of the floor," Brondello said of the seven-time All-Star. "You don't replace someone [like] Stewie, so it's more collectively as a unit. We've got to be better and more connected in what we're doing offensively, if it's running a transition, it's finishing at the rim, it's the presence, the gravitational pull that she does have, the playmaking, the list goes on."
Stewart was injured before the midway mark of the first period on Saturday and was ruled out for the rest of the game due to a lower leg injury. Brondello was not willing to put a timeline on Stewart's return despite the relatively positive diagnosis.
Sabally will also get time off "to get her body right" as she continues to deal with lower-body injuries. She has not played since the Liberty got back from the All-Star break and has been limited to 15 showings this season. Such issues have been prevalent throughout Sabally's career, such as an ACL tear that wiped out her entire rookie season in 2022.
"We want to win as many games, and she's missed, but it's making sure she's ready to go," Brondello said of Sabally. "We have so much faith in her, and we believe in her as a player, but I don't think we've seen her full potential, because she's never been 100 percent."
Sabally and Stewart's departures were originally reported by Madeline Kenney of the New York Post.
New York (17-7) won six-of-eight on its longest homestand of the season, one that concluded with a heartbreaking, last-second 101-99 loss to the Sparks on Saturday. They're set to be shorthanded on a four-game road trip that will work through Dallas, Minnesota, and a weekend doubleheader in Connecticut.
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.