Elena Delle Donne could be out for the rest of the WNBA season.

Mystics coach Mike Thibault told reporters on Thursday that Delle Donne probably wouldn’t play in their game Friday against the Atlanta Dream. He added that the two-time MVP is experiencing nerve pain, stemming from her two back surgeries since 2019, and that she isn’t practicing as a result.

“She is probably not going to play at all this weekend and I’m not sure about the rest of the year yet,” Thibault said. “I don’t know yet.”

Delle Donne returned to the court in late August for the first time in nearly two years. In her two games back, she scored 16 points and 18 points, respectively.

Delle Donne then exited early from the Mystics’ game against the Dallas Wings on Aug. 26 for what Thibault said was a “precautionary” reason.

The Mystics are currently in ninth place and a half-game out of a playoff spot, with four games left to play in the regular season.

The Washington Mystics continue to struggle without Elena Delle Donne, falling to the Minnesota Lynx 93-75 on Saturday.

Tina Charles returned to the court after missing four games with a hip injury, recording 12 points and eight rebounds for Washington.

Charles’s efforts were not enough to hold off a red-hot Minnesota Lynx team. Napheesa Collier led the Lynx with 21 points, adding nine rebounds and two assists in the win.

Sylvia Fowles notched 12 points and six rebounds, shooting 83.3 percent from the field. Aerial Powers scored 20 points off the bench for the Lynx, who have already clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs.

Saturday’s loss complicates Washington’s path to the playoffs. The team now sits in 9th place in the WNBA standings with five games remaining, just behind the New York Liberty.

Delle Donne’s health will be a key factor for the Mystics down the stretch. The two-time MVP, who has had two back surgeries since the 2019 season, did not travel to Minnesota for the game.

Next up: The Mystics face the Storm on Tuesday. The Lynx go on the road to take on the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday.

Mystics star Elena Delle Donne’s early exit from Thursday night’s game was “precautionary,” coach Mike Thibault said after the Dallas Wings handed Washington an 82-77 loss.

In her third game back this season, Delle Donne was pulled after just 12 minutes of play. The 2019 WNBA MVP, who missed 22 months after undergoing a pair of back surgeries, left the game soon after fighting for a rebound at the start of the second quarter.

“She was taken out kind of precautionary. On that play under the basket where she got a couple of attempts, just didn’t feel right to her, took her out,” Thibault said. “We’re at that point right now we’re not risking anything. We’ll see what she’s like tomorrow.”

Delle Donne was not made available to reporters after the game.

Delle Donne has been showing signs of her former self since her return to the court Sunday, when she recorded 16 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes of the Mystics’ eventual loss to the Seattle Storm. Against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday, she finished with 18 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. After both games, she told reporters she was feeling good physically.

The loss Thursday dropped Washington to 9-14. The Mystics, 10th in the WNBA standings, will be battling for the eighth and final playoff spot over the last three weeks of the regular season. They will be without star center Tina Charles for the next 3-5 games after she strained her left glute.

The Mystics host the Wings again on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Elena Delle Donne wasn’t on the court for a very long time Tuesday, but she made her presence felt nonetheless.

In fewer than 17 minutes against the Los Angeles Sparks, Delle Donne posted 18 points on nine field-goal attempts. She went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and contributed six rebounds, finishing the game with a plus-36 in the Mystics’ 78-68 win.

Delle Donne returned to the court for the first time in nearly two years Sunday, scoring 16 points in a loss to the Seattle Storm. On Tuesday, it looked like the the two-time MVP was really starting to find her footing after undergoing two back surgeries since winning a WNBA championship with the Mystics in 2019.

Myisha Hines-Allen added 19 points, six rebounds and three assists in Washington’s win.

Nia Coffey led the way for the Sparks with 15 points and four rebounds, while Chiney Ogwumike added nine points and nine rebounds.

With the win, the Mystics snapped a four-game skid, bringing them to 9-14 on the season. They next play the Dallas Wings on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

Elena Delle Donne took the court for the first time since winning a WNBA Championship and the MVP award in 2019, showing signs of her old self in Washington’s 85-78 loss to the Seattle Storm. The Washington Mystics star had been sidelined for nearly two years after undergoing two back surgeries.

Delle Donne drained her first shot of the game early in the first quarter, and the home fans inside the Entertainment and Sports Arena erupted in cheers. She said after the game it was a move she’s been working on “in the weight room.”

“It definitely felt great, especially for the first shot to go in,” Delle Donne said on the ESPN broadcast. “It was something I needed to see.”

Delle Donne finished with 16 points and three rebounds in the game, keeping the Mystics close against the Storm, who returned all of their Olympic stars over the weekend.

Despite Delle Donne’s triumphant return, Seattle pulled out the win behind Breanna Stewart’s 20 points and 12 rebounds.

After the game, Delle Donne told ESPN’s Holly Rowe she was “super nervous.”

“I had that first day of school, butterfly feeling,” she said. “It’s been quite a journey, and it’s still a day-to-day thing. I’m honored that I was able to get out here and compete with my team.”

Delle Donne said she’ll continue to manage her health.

“We’ll see after the adrenaline wears off how I’m doing and get ready for the next one,” she said.

Next up: The Mystics have a quick turnaround, with a matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. Seattle will also take the court on Tuesday against the Minnesota Lynx.

After a legendary career with the United States women’s national team, future Hall of Famer Carli Lloyd announced her retirement from soccer on Monday. Lloyd will finish out the NWSL season and play in four USWNT friendlies this fall, so it’s not goodbye just yet.

Throughout her 17-year career with the national team, Lloyd authored perhaps more iconic moments than any other player in USWNT history.

Here, we’re counting down the five we’ll never forget:

5. Her 300th cap

Earlier this year, in a friendly against Sweden, Lloyd reached 300 caps with the USWNT, becoming just the third player behind Kristine Lilly and Christie Pearce to do so.

In total, Lloyd has amassed 312 caps and counting for the USWNT, second all-time in both U.S. and world history behind only Lilly. In that time, Lloyd has played with more than 100 different teammates.

Lloyd has scored 128 times on the international stage with the USWNT, including some of the most important goals in team history and the last two scored in Tokyo. Speaking of:

4. Tokyo Olympic swan song

Though her final Olympic appearance didn’t come in the gold-medal game, Lloyd helped the USWNT capture bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring for the U.S. against Australia, scoring two early goals. Not one to be outdone, Lloyd scored the final two goals of her Olympic career to help the USWNT beat Australia 4-3 and secure the bronze.

With the brace, Lloyd became the all-time leading goal scorer in USWNT Olympic history, with 10 goals across four tournaments.

3. 2012 Olympic-winning brace 

Facing Japan in the gold-medal match at the 2012 London Olympics, only a year after losing in a shootout in the World Cup final, Lloyd scored twice to help the USWNT get revenge and win gold.

Lloyd’s back-to-back goals made her the first player, male or female, to score a brace in an Olympic final. She also became the highest-scoring midfielder in USWNT history, overtaking Julie Foudy’s 45-goal record.

2. 2008 Olympic winner 

During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Lloyd first scored a game-winner in the USWNT’s 1-0 win over Japan in the group stage. That proved to be a valuable warm-up for the final against Brazil.

There, in extra time, Lloyd buried a rocket from outside the box to secure the gold medal for the U.S.

It was quite the year for Lloyd, who bagged nine goals and nine assists while earning her 100th senior cap for the USWNT.

1. The historic hat trick

The 2015 World Cup was historic for both the USWNT and Lloyd. In the championship game against Japan, a rematch of the 2011 final, Lloyd went on an unprecedented (and still unmatched) one-woman tear, putting together one of the most brilliant performances in the history of soccer.

Lloyd scored first in the third minute, then again in the fifth, before securing her hat trick in the 16th minute with one of the most ridiculous goals ever scored in a final: a half-field chip of the Japanese goalkeeper.

Lloyd’s hat trick was the first-ever in a World Cup final. And she did it all in 16 minutes.

“When Carli kind of went on her tear, I was just thinking like, ‘This is the most bizarre game I’ve ever been a part of’,” said USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn in 2019.

“You’re obviously not focusing on scoring a hat trick in a World Cup final,” Lloyd said of the game. “I’m a pure winner. I am so hungry and so competitive, and once I get into those moments, nothing will stand in my way.”

That year, all Lloyd did was win, claiming the Golden Ball as the tournament’s MVP before being named FIFA’s Player of the Year.

Breanna Stewart has been having a banner year.

Following winning gold at the Olympics, Stewart returned to the Seattle Storm, where she was named Commissioner’s Cup MVP in the Storm’s dominant win over the Sun.

On Monday, Stewart announced via social media the birth of her and wife Marta Xargay’s baby girl Ruby, who was born Aug. 9.

“The best part of this year has been becoming a mother and growing a family with my incredible wife,” she wrote.

Togethxr, a media company co-founded by Stewart’s teammate Sue Bird, documented the journey in a 12-minute long video posted to YouTube.

The Washington Mystics hope to have Elena Delle Donne back soon. How soon is still unclear.

“I’m doing literally everything I possibly can to get back and to do my best to play this season,” Delle Donne told the Washington Post. “It’s been really tough. I’m sure others are frustrated that I’m not out there, like the fans and all, but there’s no one more frustrated than myself.

“And I’m just trying my best to find peace in my day, but also know that I am giving literally everything I possibly have to get back out there.”

Coach Mike Thibault revealed that he had hoped to get Delle Donne cleared for physical contact and team practices prior to games restarting, but her rehab schedule has continued to be delayed.

Delle Donne first announced that she had had a second back surgery in April of this year. Her timeline for return has been repeatedly delayed, and she told Kelley O’Hara on the Just Women’s Sports podcast that she’s taking things “day by day.”

The Washington Mystics continue to take hits.

The already depleted roster continues to undergo changes as Tina Charles will be absent Thursday against the Atlanta Dream, while starting point guard Natasha Cloud is questionable with a hip flexor injury. Meanwhile, there remains no timetable for Elena Delle Donne’s return.

Delle Donne has continued to rehab from a pair of back surgeries, with hopes that she would open the season on a minutes restriction following limited time during training camp.

That didn’t happen, and now it’s quite possible she may not be ready before August. 

According to coach Mike Thibault, the 2019 WNBA MVP hasn’t done any five-on-five work but is progressing. She’s moved into some one-on-one work with some defensive drills, but there’s still no definite time frame for her return.

“Certainly she’s going to need team practice time for a number of days before we consider putting her in a game,” Thibault told the Washington Post. “So if we’re two weeks from now [and] we’re still wondering about that then, yeah, it’s probably more likely coming out of the break. But we’re not saying it’s absolute at this point.”

The Mystics’ last game before the five-week Olympic break is on July 10, and they don’t return until August 15 with a game against the Las Vegas Aces. 

Elena Delle Donne was a teenage basketball phenom, receiving her first college scholarship offer in the seventh grade.

“I was still such a kid and didn’t really know how to handle that moment,” she tells Kelley O’Hara on the latest episode of the Just Women’s Sports podcast.

After that first offer, Delle Donne says the letters started flowing in, with her mom even buying an extra basket to keep up with the influx of mail. There were early signs, however, that the future WNBA star wasn’t enjoying the process.

“I didn’t open one letter,” Delle Donne says. “I didn’t read any of the newspaper articles.”

A significant influence on Delle Donne then and now is her older sister Lizzie, who was born deaf and blind and with cerebral palsy and autism. The two communicate through touch.

“The way that we communicate is through hand-over-hand sign language,” she says. “It’s not your typical sign language. It’s signs that she’s made up with my family.

“She has been everything to me, especially in my toughest times. I’ve always looked to her for perspective.”

The need to be close to Lizzie was a major factor in Delle Donne’s future career choices.

Delle Donne committed to UConn upon graduating high school, but as she drove to the campus to report for summer school, she knew something wasn’t right.

After 48 hours at the school, Delle Donne fled.

“Two days went by, and I packed up some of my stuff, called a friend and literally ran away from the University of Connecticut in the middle of the night,” she says.

When Delle Donne returned home for the summer, it became clear that her spontaneous move would stick. The Mystics forward says iconic UConn head coach Geno Auriemma handled the news graciously.

“I think we will always have a special bond because of the way that he handled that for me,” she says.

Delle Donne played volleyball for an entire season at the University of Delaware before joining the basketball team. A three-time All-American, she went on to set nearly every program record and win the 2013 Honda National Player of the Year.

You can listen to Elena Delle Donne’s full conversation with Kelley O’Hara here.