Breanna Stewart, the Most Valuable Player of the WNBA regular season and finals in 2018, was helped off the court during the Euroleague Women championship game with what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
The Seattle Storm star was playing for Dynamo Kursk when she took a jumper with 27.2 seconds left in the first half against UMMC Ekaterinburg on Sunday. Stewart appeared to land awkwardly on the foot of fellow WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was defending her, and Stewart immediately grabbed at her lower right leg while grimacing in obvious pain.
breanna stewart landed on brittney griners foot during the euroleague title game and looked in serious pain
— dynamo kursk fan account (@WEREONLIVE) April 14, 2019
not clear if it was ankle or knee but she was helped off the floor and put no weight on it pic.twitter.com/AO8ecTLtgJ
She was attended to by trainers on the court before being helped to the locker room while not putting any weight on her right leg. The nature and severity of the injury was not immediately known, but she was feared to have torn her right Achilles tendon.
Stewart’s agent said in an email to the Guardian that a formal update on the forward’s status will be made on Monday after she has seen doctors in the United States.
The injury leaves her status uncertain for the upcoming WNBA season, which begins on 24 May.
The 24-year-old from upstate New York, an Olympic gold medalist who captured four NCAA championships at the University of Connecticut and a record four Final Four most outstanding player awards, is already one of the most decorated players in history.
Stewart, who averaged a league-leading 21.0 points in the competition, has played overseas during each of the WNBA offseasons since she was drafted with the No 1 overall pick in 2016.
Her Dynamo Kursk squad fell 91-67 after she left the game as UMMC Ekaterinburg won the title for the third time in four years.
