NEW YORK (AP) - Elena Delle Donne isn’t sure how long she’ll be out for after suffering an ankle injury, although playing in next weekend’s All-Star Game is unlikely. Tayler Hill’s season is finished after she tore an anterior cruciate ligament.
The Mystics star forward injured her right ankle on Friday during a game against Indiana and was wearing a walking boot on Sunday before Washington played New York.
“I’ve rolled my ankle a bunch of times and it feels like that, and I hope that’s what we’re dealing with here,” Delle Donne told The Associated Press. “I want to see my own doctors and figure it out.”
She was disappointed to potentially have to miss the All-Star Game for a third time in her career. She had a concussion in 2013 and a flare-up of her Lyme disease in 2014. Delle Donne, the 2015 WNBA MVP, was second in fan voting for the All-Star Game behind Maya Moore this year.
“I’m going to tell people to stop voting for me. I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, laughing. “The All-Star Game has been bad luck for me in the past. Concussion, illness, this. Got to get over it.”
Even if her ankle is feeling better, flying cross-country for the game in Seattle isn’t great for her Lyme disease, Delle Donne said.
While Delle Donne hopes to return soon, the Mystics found out Sunday that guard Tayler Hill will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in her right knee.
Hill got hurt with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter Friday against the Indiana Fever.
“For so many reasons I feel bad for her,” Washington coach Mike Thibault said. “She’s been working so hard to improve her game.”
The fourth pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, Hill was averaging 13.3 points and 2.6 assists this season for the Mystics. She flew home to Washington on Saturday and an MRI revealed the ACL tear.
“She joked with me that I’ll be seeing a lot more of her this winter,” Thibault said. “She’s in good spirits.”
The Mystics are 11-8. After playing New York, they host Atlanta on Wednesday before the All-Star break.
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