Sabrina Ionescu injury delivers blow to Liberty to start 2026 WNBA season

TL;DR

Sabrina Ionescu will miss at least the first four games of the 2026 WNBA season due to a left foot injury sustained in the preseason finale against the Connecticut Sun. She is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.

Key points

Sabrina Ionescu injured her left foot in a preseason game
She will miss at least two weeks due to the injury
Ionescu will be sidelined for the first four games of the season

Sabrina IonescuNew York LibertyConnecticut SunWNBA

The New York Liberty will be without one of their stars, Sabrina Ionescu, to begin the regular season.

Ionescu suffered a left foot injury in the preseason finale against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday after rolling her ankle during the contest.

While Ionescu has thankfully avoided a serious injury, the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney is reporting that she will miss at least two weeks.

That means the Liberty star will miss at least the first four games of the 2026 WNBA season.

“Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu will watch Friday’s season opener in street clothes,” Kenney said. “Ionescu is expected to miss at least two weeks after suffering a left foot injury in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Connecticut Sun, a team source told The Post.”

The plan, Kenney writes, is for Ionescu to be re-evaluated in two weeks and the Liberty will go from there.

Ionescu’s injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday’s exhibition contest when she drove to the bucket for a reverse layup and rolled her ankle.

She immediately went to the locker room and was ruled out. Ionescu was later spotted wearing a walking boot after the contest.

For a Liberty team that was plagued by injuries in 2025, this is the last thing New York wanted to see.

Ionescu managed to stay healthy for the most part last season, appearing in 38 of 44 games, but Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones both missed 13 games apiece.