After being cleared to play in November, Asia Durr has made their return to the WNBA at the New York Liberty’s training camp.

Durr missed the last two seasons while suffering long-haul effects of COVID-19. The 25-year-old is under contract with the Liberty for this season after being drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019.

“Today was a great day,” Durr said following the first day of camp. “I’m super excited to be back with my teammates. It honestly doesn’t feel real.

“It kind of kicked in once we started practicing but I’m just super blessed and super grateful to be back with my team and have fun.”

Elsewhere with the Liberty, draftee Nyara Sabally will miss the 2022 season, as will her fellow draftee Sika Kone, who is in Spain rehabbing a knee injury. But Chinese center Han Xu has made her return and reportedly has grown an inch since last playing in the WNBA in 2019; she is now 6-foot-10.

New York Liberty guard Asia Durr has officially been cleared to return to basketball after missing the previous two seasons due to COVID-19.

“When you play in the WNBA you have to go through certain testing after positive COVID. You have to go through cardiac testing, like everything to make sure your heart has no damage from having COVID,” Durr said over Instagram Live. “So I went through all of that testing and guys, guess what? I have been cleared to play basketball again!”

Durr later posted the news in a statement to social media.

“I have officially been cleared to return to basketball,” she wrote. “This will be a day in and day out grind. I’m so ready and dedicated to the process.”

She then thanked her “close ones” for being with her through the past two seasons, saying “it’s been a crazy journey.”

Durr missed the 2020 “wubble” season due to having COVID-19 and subsequently missed the 2021 season with “long-hauler” symptoms — meaning that she dealt with symptoms long after her initial diagnosis.

In January, Durr tweeted about her progress, calling it “slow” and “incremental.”

It’s unclear what this means for Durr’s future in the WNBA. The guard is still under contract with the Liberty for next season after being drafted by the team in the 2019 WNBA draft at No. 2 overall.

After missing the 2020 “wubble” season due to COVID-19, New York Liberty guard Asia Durr is likely to continue to miss time. 

The No. 2 pick of the 2019 draft, she was included on the Liberty’s training camp roster. However, coach Walt Hopkins said in a press conference Monday that Durr’s return is far from guaranteed.

“Asia’s going to be a situation where I don’t know that we’re going to get to see her this year because she’s still battling with so much,” coach Walt Hopkins said Monday. “I think it’s at this point a possibility, but it’s a very low probability. She’s just had an extraordinary amount of things that she’s had to fight through. And so we’re doing everything that we can to support her, and as those updates become available, we’ll definitely let you guys know.” 

The 24-year-old tested positive June 8, 2020 and was later classified as a “long hauler,” someone who continues to have symptoms months after their initial diagnosis. 

She made headlines in January after appearing on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” to describe her situation, saying she had thrown up blood after first contracting Covid and still had days when she couldn’t get out of bed.

She tweeted on January 26th that she was working to be back for the upcoming season but that progress was “slow” and “incremental.”