As the 2023 WNBA season gets underway, teams already are dealing with injuries. Chicago Sky forward Izzy Harrison and Dallas Wings guard Diamond DeShields both will miss significant time.
As the season continues, Just Women’s Sports will lay out the most notable injured players and, where possible, the timetables for their returns.
The 29-year-old forward will miss “extended time this season” with a knee injury, the Sky announced on May 18.
On May 23, the team provided further details, revealing that Harrison will be out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a torn left meniscus. Harrison, who signed as a free agent with Chicago in February, has played six seasons in the WNBA.
DeShields will miss significant time this season with a knee injury, the Wings announced on May 17. She informed her teammates the previous day at practice, reportedly telling them “not to take [playing] for granted. Not to take walking for granted. Now is your time.”
While the 28-year-old guard appeared in a May 5 preseason game against Chicago, she did not travel for the team’s second preseason game out of precaution due to knee soreness. It’s unclear when she could make a return this season.
The former UConn star will undergo knee surgery during the first week of the season and will miss six to eight weeks of action as a result, the Wings announced on May 17. The 25-year-old wing was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Li will miss the season with a non-WNBA injury, the Sky announced on May 18. She played for Chicago last season but missed the postseason to prepare for the 2022 World Cup with the Chinese national team.
The 28-year-old forward signed with the Sparks in the offseason but tore her Achilles while playing for the Adelaide Lightning in Australia in February.
Samuelson is pregnant with her first child, which will keep her out of the 2023 season. The 25-year-old forward averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game in 2022.
“Life is full of surprises and 2023 surprised us in the best way possible!” she wrote in a social media announcement of her pregnancy. “We can’t wait to welcome the newest member of our family!”