Liberty's No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu expected to miss month after suffering Grade 3 ankle sprain, per report
![Libertys No 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu expected to miss month after suffering Grade 3 ankle sprain per report](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=%2Fuploads%2Fnews%2F20%2F2074%2F3%2F2074330-libertys-no-1-pick-sabrina-ionescu-expected-to-miss-month-after-suffering-grad.jpg&w=706&hash=3c0dad5f2ca84cb5baa9477b05021a0b)
Sabrina Ionescu will miss one month after suffering a Grade 3 ankle sprain during the New York Liberty's game against the Atlanta Dream on Friday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft rolled her ankle while quickly bringing the ball up the court, which caused her to awkwardly step on the foot of Atlanta's Betnijah Laney.
On Saturday, ESPN's Holly Rowe reported after six physicians began working on Ionescu's ankle, it was determined that she suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain, an injury that is believed to be "nonsurgical." Charania added that the x-rays on Ionescu's left ankle came back negative.
Ionescu had to be helped off the court following the incident that caused her injury. She was taken to the locker room so that she could be evaluated, and it was determined to be an ankle sprain, per the Liberty.
The Liberty were leading 27-25 at the time of her leaving the game. Ionescu was leading her team in scoring with 10 points to that point of the game at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She got that total in just 12 minutes of play. New York was able to hold off Atlanta for the rest of the period, leading 43-41 at halftime.
LeBron James expressed sympathy toward Ionescu on Twitter in response to her injury.
The former Oregon Ducks star is just one game removed from a spectacular performance against the Dallas Wings. She had dropped 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the 93-80 loss