UConn women’s basketball star Azzi Fudd still does not have a clear timeframe for her return from knee injury, coach Geno Auriemma said Tuesday.
Yet while Fudd’s timeline remains murky, her teammate Caroline Ducharme (concussion) is nearing a return for the No. 6 Huskies (22-4).
Fudd first injured her right knee in a Dec. 4 loss to Notre Dame. While Fudd missed the next eight games, she returned on Jan. 11, scoring 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench in a dominant win over St. John’s. But she re-injured her knee in the very next game.
The star sophomore could be seen rehabbing her knee in a video posted Tuesday to the team Twitter account, but she remains out for the foreseeable future.
“She’s out there working out,” Auriemma said. “She’s out there doing stuff. … She’s doing some non-contact things. But I don’t, as of right now, have a return date. I wish I did, but I don’t.”
The 20-year-old’s latest stint on the sidelines adds to her already troubling injury history. She tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee following her sophomore season at St. John’s College High School (D.C.), and she missed 11 games with a foot injury during her freshman season at UConn.
The best rehab buddies 🥰
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 14, 2023
Can’t wait to have Jonathan back at our games! pic.twitter.com/F7kaJzMIp1
Ducharme, though, was cleared for full contact as of Monday. She could be available for Wednesday’s game against Creighton (18-6), though Auriemma said he could not commit to her return during Tuesday’s practice.
UConn has managed to succeed this season despite many injuries affecting its roster. Paige Bueckers tore her ACL in August, and freshman Ice Brady is also out for the season with a dislocated right patella. Dorka Juhász, Aubrey Griffin and Nika Mühl all have missed time, and Ayanna Patterson also missed games in concussion protocol.