Angel Reese took to social media to explain her season-ending injury — a small crack in a bone in her wrist that will require surgery on Tuesday.
“I fell on my hand when I got the and-one, when I fell backwards (and) I fell on my hand and it’s a little crack in my bone,” Reese said in a video posted on his TikTok late Sunday night.
“Basically, the doctors told me I could either not have surgery or I could have surgery. The risk of not having surgery is that I could have arthritis by the time I’m 22. That wasn’t an option. The bone could literally crack and completely break. Right now, it’s like a hairline… They’re going to put a little screw in it. And I didn’t want it to get any bigger.”
Reese said she would wear a hard cast for four weeks, then a soft cast for two weeks.
“In the long run, I literally could have not played because it’s a very difficult area to heal because there’s little to no blood flow,” she said, pointing to her right wrist, which was wrapped in a soft black cast.
Reese, the seventh overall pick in the draft, finished the season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds. That’s the highest rebounding average in WNBA history. Reese also set a rookie record with 26 double-doubles — her last coming in a 92-78 win over Los Angeles Friday evening.
Reese has been closely associated with Indiana beginner Caitlin Clark since the two teams met in the NCAA Championship two years ago. Reese’s LSU team came out on top. They lifted the WNBA in TV ratings, attendance and merchandise sales this season.
“It’s really sad to see someone get hurt, especially players that you started with in this league,” Clark said Sunday. “You want to see her finish this year. Obviously, she had a historic year and she did some incredible things.
“To me, playing against her, she’s a top engine, if not the best in the league. She never stops working. I think she’s had a tremendous year. I think she came into the league and really did what she’s done well her whole career since I’ve known her. It’s really devastating. That’s never what you want to see from a player.”
Reese said she will continue to train and participate in off-field activities while she recovers.
“In the meantime, I’ll be in my cast for four weeks… during that time, I’ll just be lifting weights, running, working out, shooting with my off-hand, dribbling and doing things with my off-hand, working on my nutrition,” Reese said. “(I) will continue to model, do podcasts, be a bad guy… and support my teammates from the sidelines. Well, not from the sidelines, but from the bench… I still believe we’re on a playoff run.”
Reese responded in the video to social media suggestions that she was pregnant, saying it was false.
“That’s not what happened… I want to make it very clear, I don’t have a man to have kids, I don’t have a ring to have kids, I’m 22 and I don’t have kids. And I don’t plan on having kids,” she said. “So it’s not going to happen tomorrow. I just want you to know that, because I know you like to have pictures.”
Chicago is currently in the final playoff position, one game ahead AtlantaThe Sky face Washington on Wednesday.
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AP WNBA League: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
