UConn’s Paige Bueckers will miss 6-8 weeks with tibial plateau fractures
UConn’s star sophomore Paige Bueckers has received an official diagnosis.
Bueckers is expected to miss six to eight weeks after an MRI and CT scan revealed a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee, the team announced Tuesday.
“Obviously, we’re all extremely disappointed for Paige and that she suffered this injury,” head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. “It would be really hard to describe how much basketball means to Paige and how much her teammates mean to her. Not being able to do the thing that she loves to do, to be there for her teammates, is really difficult for her.”
Bueckers’ injury occurred during the final 38 seconds of the Huskies’ win over Notre Dame on Sunday. As she attempted a ball fake, her foot slid too far in front of her.
She got back up and tried to continue bringing the ball down the court before she crumpled to the floor in front of the UConn bench.
The initial report suggested she may have hyperextended her knee, which appeared better news to Auriemma, who thought the worst of her injury.
The timeline of Bueckers’ return could bring her back in time for a pair of Big East matchups against Seton Hall and St. John’s at the end of January. But if she’s 100% ready to go by then, No. 3 UConn could stand to benefit from her presence when they take on No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 27.
Bueckers isn’t just UConn’s best player. She was the No. 1 prospect of her high school class, the 2019-20 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year and a 2020 McDonald’s All-American. She was also voted USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2019. After her freshman season in Storrs, Conn., she won all but one national player of the year award and claimed the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award, to name a few of her accolades. She owns multiple program records in less than two seasons’ work
That resume already allowed her to cash in on new name, image and likeness regulations with multiyear deals with StockX and Gatorade.
In the six games she’s started so far this season, she’s averaged 21.2 points while shooting 56.3% from the field, 31% from three-point range and making 76.9% of her free throws. She’s also averaged 5.5 rebounds.
If she’s able to return after the full eight weeks, there’ll still be plenty of basketball waiting for her. The final 10 games on UConn’s docket include a matchup with No. 9 Tennessee.
Because of WNBA rules, Buecker isn’t eligible for the pro draft until 2023.
“We’ve had players get injured in the past,” Auriemma said, “and my philosophy here is: I’m not interested in how fast we can get someone back; I’m interested in what’s best for them long term.
“Every decision made will prioritize what’s best for Paige and her career. Everyone involved with this program will be there to support Paige through her healing process.”
This isn’t Bueckers’ first injury. In May, she had surgery to repair an osteochondral defect on her right ankle. That injury — which was thought to have occurred during UConn’s game against Tennessee last season when Bueckers rolled her ankle —
