September 9, 2021
Delle Donne’s status for the remainder of the season is uncertain
By Tee Baker
Hines-Allen and Atkins also listed on Mystics injury report
Washington Mystics star and two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne will miss the team’s match-up on Friday against the Atlanta Dream. And her status for the remainder of the season is uncertain, according to a report on Thursday. The six-time all-star has stopped practicing and is experiencing nerve pain related to recent back surgery.
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Delle Donne returned to the Mystics lineup on Aug. 22nd for the first time since Oct. 2019. And has played in just three games for the team this season.
“She is probably not going to play at all this weekend and I’m not sure about the rest of the year yet; I don’t know yet,” Mystics head coach and general manager Mike Thibault said during a media availability today.
The news strikes a Mystics team that has had an unfortunate string of injuries during the 2021 season, a string that Thibault described earlier this week as “the worst in 50 years of coaching.”
In addition to Delle Donne, the Mystics injury report for Friday night’s game against the Dream includes Myisha Hines-Allen and Ariel Atkins. Hines-Allen will miss the game due to the symptoms of a non-COVID illness; Atkins will miss the game reportedly due to a death in her family that will also cause her to miss the Mystic’s next game on Sunday in Chicago against the Sky.
The Mystics currently sit in ninth place with a record of 10-18, a half a game behind the New York Liberty for the eighth and final spot in the 2021 WNBA playoffs. They still have a real shot at the postseason, but their window of opportunity is closing. And losing three starters for any amount of time is not ideal at this stage of the season.
Washington will take its next step towards playoff contention on their home court this Friday at 7 p.m. E.T. against the 7-21 Atlanta Dream.
Written by Tee Baker
Tee has been a contributor to The Next since March Madness 2021 and is currently a contributing editor, BIG EAST beat reporter and curator of historical deep dives.
