Sky forward Elena Delle Donne will have surgery to repair her right thumb, the team revealed on Monday. No timetable was set for her return.
The news deals a major blow to the Sky, who potentially could be without their reigning WNBA MVP and league-leading scorer for the final three games of the regular season, which ends Sunday, and at least part of the playoffs, if not all of it.
The Sky clinched a fourth straight postseason berth Sunday after Chicago beat the Connecticut Sun 96-86. Now they hope to secure the fourth seed, which, under the league's new playoff format, would give the Sky a first-round bye that now looms even larger in importance in light of Delle Donne's injury.
But if the playoffs started Monday, the Sky would cede that spot through a tiebreaker to the Fever, who have the same 16-15 record but won the regular-season series 2-1. The Atlanta Dream (16-15) also holds a 2-1 advantage.
Delle Donne hurt her thumb Wednesday during a loss to the Mystics. She played for eight minutes before leaving the game, and has missed two games since then.
